I Know What You Did Last Summer costars Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Love Hewitt have been rumored to have a frosty offscreen relationship since the horror classic's 1997 release. The controversy started over persistent rumors that Hewitt asked producers to kill off Gellar's character Helen Shivers in the original IKWYDLS so her costar couldn't return for 1998's sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. (Hewitt has always denied having any part of Gellar's character being written out of the franchise.) All of the drama bubbled back to the surface in 2025 with the release of legacy sequel I Know What You Did Last Summer, which features Hewitt reprising her role as Julie James opposite Gellar's husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., as Ray Bronson. Gellar announced prior to the new IKWYDLS going into production that she wasn't returning because of Helen's onscreen death. Fans of the horror franchise were disappointed when Gellar and Hewitt did not reunite at the July 2025 premiere, even though both were in attendance. Gellar was quick to squash any suggestion of a feud, while Hewitt insisted in a separate interview that she was "good" with her former costar. Sarah Michelle Gellar Turns 48! Her Photos Through the Years Keep scrolling for a look back at these persistent feud rumors: '90s Drama Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Love Hewitt in 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Courtesy Columbia Pictures; Courtesy Everett Collection The rumors of a rift between Gellar and Hewitt date back to when they were filming I Know What You Did Last Summer. Some fans have speculated that the two didn't get along on set, so Hewitt encouraged producers to kill off Gellar's character. Hewitt addressed the accusation head-on during an appearance on the "I've Never Said This Before" podcast in December 2024 in order to dispel stereotypes that "girl actresses don't like to work with girl actresses." "I was 18. They were not taking script notes from me, guys," Hewitt insisted, before saying that she was "totally" friends with Gellar back in the day. She went on, "All of us were in that experience together and, kind of, figuring it all out and everything. I root for her and Freddie and think it's the cutest thing in the world that they've been married for 100 years, and have kids. It's adorable. It's just been really funny to see all of this stuff that people think." Legacy Sequel Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. in July 2025. Eric Charbonneau/Sony Pictures via Getty Images Gellar announced in October 2024 that she was not returning for director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's I Know What You Did Last Summer legacy sequel even though Prinze was involved. She bluntly explained to People at the time: "I am dead." The actress was otherwise enthusiastic about the project, revealing: "My best friend [Jennifer] is directing it, so we joke that I have an unofficial job, which is I am continuity. So I'm always the one telling her, 'Well, that would happen, or that wouldn't happen with those characters,' so I do have kind of an unofficial job title." However, there was an awkward moment two months later at the premiere of her show Dexter: Original Sin when Extra asked Gellar for an update on the new IKWYDLS. "I have nothing to do with that," she responded before walking away. Jennifer Love Hewitt Then and Now: Photos of Her Through the Years Hewitt's return as Julie was announced only two days after Gellar's awkward red carpet response, leading fans to once again suggest that there was friction between the pair. Gellar attempted to clarify that situation by sharing a photo from the I Know What You Did Last Summer set, in addition to explaining why she'd been so reticent to discuss the movie. "Aspiring actors please note: This 'deer in the headlights' reaction is perfect for when you are excited to see so many old friends in one project but have already stupidly forgotten what NDA means once this month," she wrote via Instagram in December 2024. 'We're Good' Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Jennifer Love Hewitt in 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Courtesy Columbia Pictures; Courtesy Everett Collection Hewitt next tried to squash the feud "narrative" during an interview with Vulture in July 2025. The former Party of Five star insisted she hadn't really been in contact with Gellar since they worked on I Know What You Did Last Summer back in the day. "I honestly don't even know what that was or how that all came to be," Hewitt said. "I just think people don't want the narrative to be easy. Why do we always have to be against each other and out for each other?" When asked directly about her relationship with Gellar, Hewitt replied: "I haven't seen Sarah. Literally, we've not talked since I  saw her at 18 years old when the first movie came out. That's why it's so funny to me. People were like, 'Say something back.' And I'm like, 'What am I going to say? I've not seen her.'" "On my side, we're good. I have no idea where this is