Twenty years after its debut, Cruel Intentions still has a massive fan base and is credited with helping several viewers, famously including Demi Lovato, realize they were queer.
However, the teen romance film was rated R back when it came out in 1999, and star Ryan Phillippe wasn’t sure his parents would love the movie as much as fans did.
Ryan chatted with Barstool Sports’ KFC Radio on Tuesday, Nov. 17, and revealed that he was worried his parents would disown him after his role in Cruel Intentions.
He was asked if the storyline, about two teens making a sex bet, felt “normal” at the time. Ryan responded, “No, and you know, I thought my parents were going to disown me.”
The Crash actor, who was 23 when he made the film, explained that it wasn’t the first time his parents had disapproved of his work.
He had grown up attending a religious school but went on to portray revolutionary LGBTQ characters onscreen. “My first role ever, though, coming out of the Christian school when I was a senior in high school, I played the first gay character on a soap opera, first gay teenager ever,” Ryan continued.