Rachel Bilson says Rami Malek asking her to take down throwback picture made her 'super bummed'
The 'Bohemian Rhapsody' star told her that he was 'a really private person'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rachel Bilson is feeling blue about a throwback picture featuring herself and her high school classmate Rami Malek.
The actress, 39, recently appeared on the "Armchair Expert" podcast hosted by Dax Shepard and Monica Padma and opened up about an interaction she had with the Oscar winner several years after attending school together.
Back in 2019, Bilson shared a throwback photo of herself and Malek, also now 39, as teenagers in New York City.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Hey @ramimalek where'd you get that gold chain?" she captioned the post, poking fun at the 1990s fashion, per E! News.
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"Rami was a good friend of mine," the star explained on the podcast. "We were [in] the same crew. We did the Crucible together senior year, we were the leads in it together."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rachel Bilson revealed that when she shared a photo of herself and Rami Malek, he asked her to remove it from social media. (Getty Images)
Bilson wanted to celebrate her old pal's massive success after winning a plethora of awards for starring as Freddie Mercury in "Bohemian Rhapsody," so she shared the throwback from NYC.
"Obviously, he gets super famous and he's always been extremely talented ... even in high school," she continued. "I had posted a throwback of us from our senior trip to New York. We're super nerdy ... just the dorkiest picture of the both of us. But I throw it up, 'cause it's funny and I think it's so important to be able to make fun of yourself."
The star said that she normally doesn't check her direct messages on Instagram, but noticed one had come through from Malek.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}RAMI MALEK AGREED TO PLAY BOND VILLAIN ONLY IF CHARACTER HAD NO RELIGIOUS MOTIVES
"It wasn't like, 'Hey! How are you?!' It was straight to: 'I would really appreciate if you take that down. I'm a really private person,'" she recalled. "I was like, 'Oh, s---! OK.' I get really hot and start sweating."
She added: "I'm all nervous, like, 'Oh God! What did I do?' He was a really good friend, it's a funny picture ... you know? I don't take myself that seriously."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rachel Bilson shared a throwback photo of herself and Malek as teenagers shortly before he won his Oscar. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images)
However, the "O.C." alum said that her old buddy "didn't like the picture of himself."
"I'm friends with his stylist and she was like, 'Well it's not a great picture of him,'" the actress said. "It was right before the Oscars and I remember [writer] Josh Schwartz being like, 'You did him dirty. He's about to be nominated.'"
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She said she "should've found something more flattering" but ended up removing the image and sending an apology note to Malek, encouraging him just before he nabbed an Oscar.
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"I never hear anything back, which is fine," she said. "But I was super bummed because he was always so nice and we were good friends."