Director Joel Feigenbaum isn't convinced that Jessica Alba's interpretation of a certain rule she heard about on the set of Beverly Hills, 90210 is entirely accurate.
While competing on Complex's Hot Ones earlier this month, the L.A.'s Finest star revealed that she was banned from looking directly at the stars of the popular series during her season eight guest arc.
"On the set of 90210, I couldn't even make eye contact with any of the cast members, which was really strange when you're trying to do a scene with them," Jessica, who played pregnant teen Leanne, revealed in the Oct. 1 episode. "It was like, ‘You're not allowed to make eye contact with any one of the cast members or you'll be thrown off the set.'"
Joel, who directed both of Jessica's episodes, shared in the Oct. 12 episode of the Beverly Hills 90210 Show podcast that he believes someone was likely joking around with her when they told her that "rule."
"It's very possible someone could have said that to her, either seriously or not. I can't imagine who it would have been. It certainly wasn't one of the cast and I can't even imagine," he explained. "The only other people it might have been, an AD or maybe somebody in the makeup and hair trailer. I don't doubt that she heard that somehow, but I certainly was never aware of it and you certainly never saw that on the set anyway."
He added that it's possible that "somebody else was messing with her," because to his knowledge, that "wasn't a rule on the set by any means" and the cast was very friendly with guest stars.
Since Jessica's appearance on Hot Ones, multiple stars have come forward to say that the eye contact rule wasn't a thing.
Though Brian Austin Green did not work with Jessica during her time on the show, he defended his fellow cast members on SiriusXM's The Jenny McCarthy Show.
On the Oct. 8 episode, the actor said, "The one thing that we really were good about on our set was making people feel welcome and feel like they were a part of the family and what we were doing and they were a part of the team."
Jennie Garth, who worked closely with Jessica on the show, told the iHeartRadio podcast 9021OMG, "Like, if anybody was, you know, didn't want to have their eyes looked into, it would have been me. But, I don't remember because I have the world's worst memory."
Perhaps the person who possibly pranked Jessica will step forward—let's see if they can look her in the eyes while confessing.