Melissa Joan Hart Almost Fired From ‘Sabrina’ and Sued by Archie Comics After Posing in Her Underwear for Maxim Magazine: “The Worst Day of My Life”

Melissa Joan Hart might have boasted magical powers as the titular role on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but an off-screen Maxim Magazine cover shoot was enough to have nearly hexed her career.

The child star, who had already held a lead TV role in Clarissa Explains It All prior to her taking on the role of Sabrina Spellman at age 20, was in her prime by the year 1999, when she also starred in the rom-com Drive Me Crazy. However, that moment of stardom almost came crashing down when she was nearly fired from Sabrina and sued, among other personal problems on the night of the film’s New York premiere.

Hart opened up about what she described as “the worst day of [her] life” to fellow former child actors Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle on the Aug. 21 episode of their Pod Meets World iHeartPodcast.

“I was breaking up with a boy that night because I decided I no longer wanted a relationship with him, so that was a little heartbreaking,” she explained. “I was with my family, we had done so much press, I had been up since 4 a.m.”

She continued, “They wanted me to wait in my car for, like, an hour for Britney [Spears] to show up so we could do photos together.”

Spears’ single “(You Drive Me) Crazy” was featured on the film’s soundtrack, and Hart even had a cameo in the music video.

“I was like: ‘Can I just start doing the press?’ but nope, you’ve got to wait for Britney,” Hart explained, who also noted that she had been “crying all evening.”

“Then as soon as the movie started I was whisked away to a limo.”

While in the limo, she got a call saying that she had been fired from Scary Movie, which she said she had been cast in as the “vivacious, big-breasted one that’s murdered or something in the beginning” of the film.

If that didn’t already ruin her night, Hart was also approached by her lawyer at the premiere about the Maxim cover she had posed for in her underwear.

“‘You did a photoshoot for Maxim magazine?'” she recalled him asking her. “I’m like: ‘Yes, I did.’ They’re like: ‘Well, you’re being sued and fired from [Sabrina], so don’t talk to the press, don’t do anything.'”

Fortunately, those from Archie Comics — which the series was based on — “had no ground to stand on.”

“What happened was the magazine wrote, ‘Sabrina, your favorite witch without [a stitch],'” she shared, which was believed to have violated her Archie Comics contract, which stated she “would never play the character [of Sabrina] naked.”

“No, that was supposed to be me promoting my movie, it wasn’t supposed to be a character,” she continued. “I had no control over what they wrote on the cover.”

After writing an apology letter, the drama was “all gone,” and the hype ended up working in her favor.

“It made for Drive Me Crazy to come out and be a huge success,” she admitted.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch is streaming on Hulu and Drive Me Crazy is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.