There was so much shock among Melissa Joan Hart fans when she was introduced as a grandmother in Lifetime's "Would You Kill For Me? The Mary Bailey Story" that the celeb had to jump on Instagram to speak her mind. Posting a screengrab from Scary Mommy's website that read, "Melissa Joan Hart is Playing A Grandma In a Lifetime Movie & People Are NOT Okay," she wrote, "While I'm proud of my performance in my most recent movie [...] I couldn't be more flattered that people don't think of me as a grandmother."
The uproar eventually spread to TikTok, where one user posted a clip of a matronly Hart pulling a turkey out of the oven for her grandchildren, quipping, "I'm convinced that we are living in the upside down. Sabrina is still a teen!!!" Respondents shared the sentiment, with one arguing, "No Clarissa, we ain't there yet." Thankfully, Hart took it all in stride, reasoning simply, "It's also refreshing to go viral for my work and not something controversial."
However, some did feel that there was a little bit of controversy about her being cast in the role. A woman in her late 40s could be a grandma, but Hollywood is known for its ageism when it comes to women. Instead of casting Hart as the mother and a 50-plus woman (the average age women are inducted into grandparenthood) as the grandma, producers chose Hart. The mother, Veronica, is played by Olivia Scriven, who was in her mid-20s at the time.
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