Rachel Bilson says ex-classmate Rami Malek asked her to take down throwback of them

Rachel Bilson has said she was "super bummed" when former classmate Rami Malek asked her to take down a throwback photo of them from Instagram.

Back in February 2019 Bilson had shared a snap of herself with the Bohemian Rhapsody star - whom she attended Notre Dame High School in Los Angeles with - when they were teenagers on a trip to New York.

But the O.C. actor has now said on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast that while she was amused by the "dorky" picture posted just ahead of Malek's Oscar win for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury, he didn't feel the same way.

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The 39-year-old went on to give some back story to their relationship as she said they were "good friends" at the time.

“I had posted a throwback of us from our senior trip to New York, Broadway,” she explained. “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."

Bilson said that she checked her Instagram direct messages a week later to see Malek had got in touch.

“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 claimed.

“I was like, ‘Oh, s***! OK.’ I get really hot and start sweating. I’m all nervous, like, ‘Oh god! What did I do?’ He was a good friend of mine, it’s a funny picture…you know? I don’t take myself that seriously,” Bilson went on.

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She remarked that his stylist, also a friend of hers, said "it's not a great picture of him".

“I was like, I guess I should’ve found something more flattering,” Bilson shared. “But I removed it and I even wrote to him a really nice message: ‘I’m so sorry. Go get the Oscar! You’re doing amazing.’ And I never hear anything back, which is fine. But I was super bummed because he was always so nice and we were good friends."

Bilson added that she was "a little bummed" at how it had been "handled".

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