Behind the Smile: Why the Drive Me Crazy Premiere Was Melissa Joan Hart's Worst Day

It's a photo frozen in time: Melissa Joan Hart and Britney Spears smiling at the 1999 premiere of Drive Me Crazy. But behind Hart's forced grin were bloodshot eyes and a career crumbling in real-time. The 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' star recently revealed that what should've been her big night was actually one of the worst days of her life.

A Double Firing at the Melissa Joan Hart Premiere

According to Entertainment Weekly, the chaos began in a limousine. While heading to the airport to film the parody hit Scary Movie, Hart received a phone call telling her she'd been fired. The reason? Producers decided her physical appearance didn't fit the role. She was forced to turn the limo around and return to her own premiere, already in tears.

The nightmare didn't end there. Upon her return, her lawyer dropped another bombshell: she was being fired from her hit show, Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The issue stemmed from a Maxim magazine cover that the network felt violated her contract's image requirements. At that moment, the millennial icon believed her entire career was over.

Survival and the Legacy of a 90s Icon

Despite the dramatic night, things eventually stabilized. The Maxim scare turned out to be a false alarm, and Hart continued starring in Sabrina for another 4 years. Meanwhile, Drive Me Crazy grossed nearly 3 times its budget. While she never joined the Scary Movie franchise—which is set to return with Scary Movie 6—Hart's resilience during that "dramatic night" remains a testament to her longevity in the industry.