Busy Philipps says she ‘hated’ Entourage despite starring in it

Busy Philipps has said she despised the 2000s hit comedy series Entourage despite starring in it briefly.

In 2007, Philipps appeared as a guest in the 14th episode of the show’s third season, playing the role of Cheryl, who has a brief romantic relationship with one of the lead characters, Turtle (played by Jerry Ferrara).

The sitcom, which held up a mirror to the Hollywood boys club, follows newly successful film star Vincent Chase (played by Adrian Grenier), and his group of childhood friends on their newly discovered Hollywood lifestyle. Viewers see Vince chase women as he navigates his new world.

During a recent interview, Philipps, who is best known for appearing in films and TV shows including Dawson’s Creek, Freaks and Geeks and White Chicks, revealed her unfiltered thoughts on the series.

“Full disclosure. Like, I f***ing hated that show,” she told Danny Pellegrino’s Everything Iconic podcast.

“I remember, though, being sort of told, like, ‘This is the thing – you should do this.’ Like, ‘If you’re a hot girl, you gotta be on Entourage.’”

Philipps did not reveal the reason why she disliked the show, but praised the cast she worked with.

“I really just worked with Jerry and Kevin [Connolly]. And Jerry was the sweetest, like the nicest kid,” she recalled.

In recent years, the show has been criticised for its depiction of women characters as disposable sexual pursuits whose main trait is being attractive.

While Philipps did not address these criticisms, she pointed out that the filming of the series predated the widespread use of intimacy coordinators on film and TV sets, which meant that she took Ferrera to one side and told him “how this is going to work”.

“I actually think that it was the first scene that they ever gave Turtle where he had a make-out scene with a girl,” explained Philipps.

She said her experience from performing multiple kissing scenes in Dawson’s Creek had set her up for the challenge.

“I think it was right after Dawson’s Creek, so I had obviously done a lot of making out on the Creek.”

She explained that she told Ferrera: “I know how to do it Jerry! Listen, nothing to be nervous about.”

Philipps added: “So I remember having this whole conversation. He was so nice.”

Following Entourage, Philipps appeared in many more sitcoms including How I Met Your Mother, New Girl and Arrested Development.

She currently stars in Girls5Eva, a sitcom about a Nineties girl group with just one hit who get a second chance at success when a young rapper decides to sample their song. The show was initially aired on Peacock for the first two seasons before moving to Netflix.

When asked about the future of the show, Philipps was vague but said: “I need more.”

“I think that this third season is so good. We’re just waiting now, we’ll see how Netflix feels. I feel positive.”