Jerk: Macaulay Culkin
Sweetheart: Anna Paquin
The actress predominantly known for her role on True Blood began her career acting in The Piano at the age of 11, earning her an academy award for performance in 1993. Anna is another 90s star who is not afraid to speak out about her sexuality, schooling Larry King during an interview about the nature of sexuality and the fluidity of her own bisexuality. More recently, she backed up her costar Ellen Page’s accusations about Brett Ratner for being blatantly homophobic, adding herself to the accumulating amount of women who are standing up against harassment and unequal treatment at their place of work. Women must support women and this is a notion that Paquin has no problem emphasizing to the general public.
Jerk: Lindsay Lohan
Ever since her childhood successful role as twins separated at birth, Lohan has been a constant source of celebrity gossip. Growing up in the spotlight and blasting through her partying 20s, substances and alcohol were not kind to Lohan, with multiple bouts in rehab centres and negative encounters with the paparazzi. She earned her Mean Girl title during many tirades on Twitter and Instagram, telling Ariana Grande she was wearing ’too much makeup’, even displaying public arguments back and forth with her dad. To top it off, Lohan proudly defended Harvey Weinstein during his initial accusations (and since a plethora more have come forward with disturbing details about further abuse)and came to Donald Trump’s aid when she believed other Americans were ‘bullying’ him. Yuck.
Sweetheart: Alicia Silverstone
The Clueless star is far from clueless; in fact, she is inspiring many with her new and fresh perspective on life. Silverstone runs a website titled The Kind Life: articles written about approaches to diet, health, efforts toward living a more green life, animal treatment and tales of motherhood are shared between women searching for a new beginning. Silverstone seems dedicated toward making this earth a more decent and kind place to live and thrive in, which instantly deems her one of the sweetest 90s stars there is. Silverstone was also one of the first celebrities in the 90s to become vegan, which further spurred her into activist action in the name of the diminishing environment and treatment of the animals she has always claimed to love.
7 Jerk: Mary-Kate Olsen
Next on the list is the above’s twin sister, who is also joins her duplicate on the jerk list. In more of a shared jerk moment, the duo reportedly never returned the phone calls of Fuller House creator Jeff Franklin when he inquired on multiple occasions for them to make a cameo appearance when the show returned on Netflix last year. We can understand not wanting to go the far back in your acting career, or perhaps appear as a desperate reach to cling onto the role that burned your name into the stars eternal, but even a blunt ’no’ is better than silence. Their absence in the series was noticed by viewers and fans of the original show. Not cool.
Sweetheart: Joesph Gordon Levitt
Jerk: Ashley Olsen
6 Sweetheart: Mara Wilson
She’s not Matilda anymore, but she’s just as sweet. Actress Mara Wilson was known for her charming demeanour in the movies Mrs. Doubtfire and the cult classic Matilda. However, Mara quickly noticed the shift in attention that occurred once she passed through puberty; the disturbing sexualization of young female actresses. Mara penned a passionately empowering essay for Elle after feeling triggered over the inappropriate comments Stranger Things star Millie Bobbie Brown had received by the hand of anonymous strangers on Twitter. Her honesty in reference to her own experience growing up as a child star who was quickly objectified opens the door for a conversation about what is deemed appropriate and not appropriate in our society. Comfort, connection? That is sweet.
5 Jerk: Brian Bonsall
This actor received prominent fame during the seven year stint of a little known television series Family Ties. He also starred in the 1994 Disney film Blank Check, grossing over $30 million in theatre ticket sales. Ever since Brian Bonsall moved away from LA, so did his acting career, so he morphed himself into a musician, joining bands called Late Bloomers and later Thrusters. The leap appeared to be an attempt to separate himself from the innocent image that presented itself upon the screen of the blonde and blue-eyed bundle of joy. However, his jerkiness revealed itself after getting caught drunk driving and a 2007 arrest for hurting his girlfriend. There’s nothing that personifies jerkiness more than domestic violence.
4 Sweetheart: Drew Barrymore
Little Drew Barrymore captured our hearts in the 90s hit E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial with her sweet comedic relief. There has always been something about that face that screams ’love me’, and Drew, we have. According to a fan in 2011, who had received notice that her dog had just been hit by a car, they were crying in a bathroom in a cafe when Barrymore reportedly heard her weeping and consoled her. After buying her a chai latte, the actress gave her a hug and told her she would be okay. Well, it definitely entirely fix a terrible situation for that poor fan, it definitely made those difficult moments a little bit easier to bear.
3 Jerk: Raven-Symoné
Beloved Cosby Show and Disney star, Raven Symone captured the attention of viewers with her cuteness as a child and wit as a teenager. Young girls idolized her, especially young Black girls searching for a place in the predominately white saturated media and television shows. But that idolization quickly rushed downhill when Raven renounced her ancestry in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, claiming not to be African American but “just American.” That same year, as host for the talk show The View in 2015, Raven ranted about how she would refused to hire anyone with a ‘black name’ like “Watermelondrea.” Her rejection of her own race has led to an extreme backlash in the African-American community, disappointingly stating that her platform was only fuelling the already deeply ingrained racism in the United States.
2 Sweetheart: Ben Savage
Sweet and innocent Cory Matthews seems to be a reflection of Ben Savage, as many fans and interviewers have claimed. In the revitalization of the hit series Boy Meets World, Savage made the effort to reach out to all of the same cast and crew to film Girl Meets World, primarily focusing on the trials and tribulations of a female teenager. The original series Boy Meets World lasted for seven seasons, while Girl Meets World was cancelled only after three last year. Though its presence was brief, it showed the dedication of writers willing to follow a single path of what leads to a television show brave enough to discuss the trials and tribulations associated with being a teenager.
1 Jerk: Sarah Michelle Gellar
The actress from the highly successful teen obsession Buffy the Vampire Slayer reportedly began hating the program that made her famous during the filming of the third of seven seasons. Not only was Gellar difficult to work with, but apparently systematically ‘got rid’ of her former husband Freddie Prince Jr.’s friends after their 2002 wedding. Gellar also did not show up for the TV show’s final wrap party. This was supposedly due to Gellar’s seething hatred of the series that made her a universal name after season three and she performed her duties as the badass Buffy with deep reluctance and resentment toward the writers, cast, and crew.
