The Saved by the Bell gang’s all here! Almost!
Bayside High School’s lovable loser, Samuel “Screech” Powers, portrayed by Dustin Diamond, was notably airbrushed out of an old cast picture and left off the cast’s reunion on the cover of People magazine, released earlier this week.
Was it because of his upcoming Saved By the Bell tell-all book? His nasty sex tape? His Celebrity Fit Club meltdowns? His troubles with Wisconsin mortgage loans?
Yes, yes, yes and yes.
“The other cast members were very uncomfortable with including him,” a People spokesperson confirms. Ouch, Double-D. Dissed by Lark Voorhies. That hurts.
Diamond’s forthcoming Saved By the Bell memoir is a big reason his old pals’ defenses are up. Mark-Paul Gosselaar openly slammed him to Newsweek.
“What’s he going to say?” Gosselaar sarcastically posited. “We were f–king groupies at 14? I can’t wait to read his book, because I don’t have a memory of a lot of the shows. Maybe it was because I was doing lines off of the audience members’ a—-.”
“I’m sure he’s going to write something crazy. So he’s writing a book, I’m not afraid of what he has to say. There are not too many skeletons in my closet.”
How did Diamond feel about the blatant snub? Apparently the same way Screech felt after being repeatedly brushed aside by love interest Lisa Turtle.
“Of course he cared he wasn’t invited,” a Diamond pal said. “Wouldn’t you?”
Star in one lousy sex tape and your childhood pals pretend you never existed. Let this be a lesson to all you derelict, unsuccessful stand-up comedians out there.