Jennifer Love Hewittdiscussed the wildly inappropriate comments some men would say to her after she appeared as a teenager in the classic horror film,I Know What You Did Last Summer.A loose adaptation of the late author Lois Duncan’s 1973 young adult novel of the same name, Hewitt portrayed Julie James in the 1997 film and its follow-up,I Still Know What You Did Last Summer(1998). The actress spoke about dealing with those troubling sexual comments while appearing onMayim Bialik’s Breakdownpodcast. Hewitt said:
“In my 30s, I sort of went back and looked at that time again, and I was like, ‘Oh my god!’ There were grown men talking to me at 16 about my breasts openly on a talk show — and people were laughing about it […] Like, I really didn’t take that part of it in, but in hindsight, it was very strange to become a sex symbol sort of for people before I even knew what that was. I didn’t know what being ‘sexy’ meant, and I was on the cover of Maxim magazine.”
Hewitt’s early days in show business included appearing on the children’s TV show,Kids Incorporated,and starring with Whoopi Goldberg inSister Act 2: Back in the Habit. However, Hewitt’s breakout role came playing Sarah in the wildly popular television series,Party of Five. It was during this time period that the rising star also appeared inI Know What You Did Last Summerand its sequel. Hewitt continued to address those inappropriate comments she had to deal with as a teen during the same sit-down by saying:
“People would openly walk up and be like, ‘Oh, I took your magazine with me on a trip last week.' And I didn’t really know what that meant [laughs]. You know what I mean: It’s kind of gross […] When I Know What You Did Last Summer came out, everybody said, ‘Oh, I know what your breasts did last summer.’ It was a culture that was fully accepted. But when you sit and look at where we are now versus then, it is really mind-blowing.”
Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Mother Shielded Her as Much as Possible
Over the course of her illustrious career,Jennifer Love Hewitt has given some remarkable performancesoutside of herParty of FiveandI Know What You Did Last Summerroles. Hewitt’s contributions to theGhost Whispererseries and the filmsThe Audrey Hepburn StoryandCan’t Hardly Waitcertainly helped to expand her acting range over the years. However, during the early portions of her time working in Hollywood, Hewitt credits her mother with sheltering and protecting her, particularly from the partying lifestyle. The actress said during the same podcast:
“At the time, it felt very innocent and exciting and fun. So, I’m thankful for that, because I think had I tried to take, had I taken on some of that earlier, I think it would have messed with me a little bit, but it didn’t, for whatever reason. Maybe that’s because my mom was always around, keeping reality very apparent for me. Like I would go to a premiere, and people would want me to do things, and I’d have to go home and clean my room. So, I think that helped.”
Freddie Prinze Jr. Reveals Truth About His and Jennifer Love Hewitt’s ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ Legacy Sequel Characters
Freddie Prinze Jr. confirms how involved he and Jennifer Love Hewitt are in the next installment of the ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ franchise.
Starring inI Know What You Did Last Summeralso helped to introduce Hewitt to a whole new audience of fans, who still love the 1997 classic and its sequel that also featured the return of Julie James’ love interest, Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.). Hewitt discussed the effect that playing the Scream Queen had on her during the podcast (below):
“I remember thinking it was really cool that like girls looked up to me, and I took that very seriously. That was the part that I took away from it all at the time. I felt a real responsibility to carry that and carry myself in a way that felt like I was earning the right to be somebody’s like role model. I really do remember that. I also remember having a really interesting conversation with my mom where I was hyper aware of the fact that like, there were probably 50,000 other girls in the world that didn’t get the opportunity that I did, and that I had to take care of it.”
Jennifer Love Hewitt officially announced her return as Julie Jamesin the upcoming legacy sequel back in December 2024. Freddie Prinze Jr. will also reprise his role from the 1997 and 1998 films. Fans can catch up with Prinze Jr. and Hewitt’s iconic characters whenI Know What You Did Last Summerdrops in theaters onJuly 18, 2025.
