Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth Respond To Vanessa Marcil’s Claims Of ‘Cattiness’ On 90210 Set

Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth have a podcast where they revisit old episodes of “Beverly Hills, 90210” — but this week, they also had to address some recent criticism of themselves, after former costar Vanessa Marcil claimed she experienced a lot of “cattiness” when she joined the show.

On Monday’s new episode of their 90210MG podcast, the two hit back at Marcil’s criticism straight on, after the actress spoke out about what it was like for her on set in a recent Instagram Live interview.

“I was so hurt when I was working there that I felt like I was sideswiped by the cattiness and not being liked. I wasn’t expecting it, because I had really nice experiences working before that,” said Marcil. “This was all new to me. One day on set, Jennie Garth said to me, ‘Maybe it would help if you didn’t walk around like somebody who isn’t liked?'”

“Today, I think if I went back, it’s like when people don’t like me now, it doesn’t bother me that much,” she added. “I don’t care as much, but I really cared back then. I’m so used to not being liked now. I realized it’s not personal. It’s not personal how people feel about you. It’s just a reflection of how they feel about themselves. It doesn’t even mean that they’re bad people if they don’t like you. They just don’t have room for you in that moment.”

Marcil also said that she always go out of her way to make newcomers “feel comfortable” on the soaps she’s starred on, adding, “that wasn’t the case here and that’s okay. It wasn’t personal because they didn’t know me. I took it too personally, to the point that I quit.”

“Apparently you gave her some really great advice,” said Spelling as the two reacted to Marcil’s claims midway through their podcast. “This is what’s crazy, she really vividly recalls something I said to her,” added Garth.

Spelling said she couldn’t picture her longtime friend speaking like that, saying, “That doesn’t sound like something you would even say.” Jennie agreed, saying it seemed more like a comment an older and wiser Garth would say now, not out of cattiness, but from her knowledge of the business. “I can’t imagine young Jennie off-set being so presumptive or bold to say I know what you should do,” she explained.

“I’m gonna go on record. I hung out with Vanessa a lot. She was always great to me, always very nice, very professional,” said Spelling. “I don’t remember her having a bad time or a hard go at it. She was very well liked. She’s the type of the girl who has no problem fitting in anywhere.”

When Garth said that her alleged comment could have been meant multiple ways and possibly interpreted incorrectly, Spelling said neither way of reading it sounded good and “neither of those sound like you.” She also asked, “What the f— does that mean?”

“I’m gonna go on record that you didn’t say that. I was there apparently. The whole thing, here’s the thing, no matter how she phrases it, it has a negative connotation to it,” Spelling continued. “You and Vanessa weren’t that close. She played my cousin, I worked a lot with her. I don’t remember you guys having that many interactions. I don’t believe that you would take it upon yourself to be like, ‘Here’s why you’re acting like someone who’s not liked, so that’s why you’re not liked.'”

Garth said it was actually pretty solid advice and something she learned as a grown woman in the industry. “There’s always been this energy of a competitive environment amongst, especially, women,” she continued. “And that has shifted now in a beautiful way and now the messaging is different and women are allowed to support each other and be each other’s cheerleaders. That’s why I said it sounds like something I would say now rather than as a young person because, I mean, it’s a good message.”

Since both Marcil and Jessica Alba have spoken out about their time on the show, Spelling said she’d love the chance to go back and ask both of them how they saw life on set at the time. “Ask how did you see it, here’s how we saw it and talk it out,” she said, “the truth is somewhere in the middle.”

After a break, Spelling admitted she was “still feeling a little fired up about this Vanessa situation” and said they should have Marcil on the podcast in the future so she could talk about her experience more. Garth liked that idea, saying it could be a change for them all to “grow through something.”

The two also reacted to Marcil saying she quit the show. During her interview, she claims she had asked three different times to leave the show and was initially denied that opportunity, twice, because she was under contract. “They let me go, finally, they knew I was unhappy,” she added.

“Did she leave the show?” asked Tori. “I’m aware that she stopped being on the show, I was not aware that she ‘left’ the show. I just don’t remember that character going on. Maybe I remember wrong, rarely.”