Jessica Alba’s 90210 ‘no eye contact’ claims ‘stupidest thing I’ve ever heard’ says co-star Ian Ziering

‘Fantastic Four’ star claimed that she was ‘forbidden’ from looking at the show’s cast during 1998 appearance

Beverly Hills 90210 star Ian Ziering has called Jessica Alba’s claims that she was not allowed to make eye contact with the show’s cast “the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard”.

On Thursday (1 October), Alba appeared on the YouTube interview series Hot Ones and claimed that she was forbidden to lock eyes with the 90210 cast when she guest-starred on the show in 1998.

“It was like, ‘You’re not allowed to make eye contact with any one of the cast members or you’ll be thrown off the set’,” Alba claimed.

“It was really strange when you’re trying to do a scene with them,” she said.

Ziering, who portrayed Steve Sanders on the long-running teen drama, has now said that Alba’s allegation is “the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard”.

He also argued that if Alba did hear the apparent rule, it didn’t come from the cast themselves.

“I’m not doubting her but I doubt that it came from any cast member,” Ziering told People Magazine. “Maybe it came from some third [assistant director] who decided to flex a little and said ‘Please don’t look at the actors.’

“That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” he continued. “And knowing the people that I’ve worked with my whole life, nobody would ever say that. It’s impossible to even wrap my head around anyone asking someone – particularly Jessica Alba! – not to look at them.”

Jessica Alba and Ian Ziering at events in early 2020 (Jean-Baptiste Lacroix/Araya Diaz/Getty Images)

Ziering’s 90210 co-stars Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling also discussed Alba’s claims on their forthcoming 90210 podcast.

“I had all the scenes with her,” Garth said. “If anybody didn’t want to have their eyes looked into, it would have been me. But I don’t remember because I have the world’s worst memory.”

Alba portrayed a teenage mother on the show, in one of her earliest acting appearances. She would go on to star in films including Sin City and Fantastic Four.