If one of the signs of maturity is copping to youthful transgressions, then Dustin Diamond’s all grown up. Sort of.
While promoting his new movie, “All Wifed Up,” the former “Screech” of “Saved By the Bell” fame discussed his career misfires in an interview with HuffPost Live Thursday. One of those was VH-1’s “Celebrity Fit Club,” which did not shine Diamond in the brightest of lights. Diamond alleged that his role on “Celebrity Fit Club” was entirely scripted.
“I was playing the bad guy on that show,” he said. “That’s not at all how I am.”
During the Google Hangout video call conversation, Diamond also elaborated on comments he made in a previous Oprah Winfrey Network “Where Are They Now?” clip, where he said his tell-all book, “Behind the Bell” was highly inaccurate.
Also read: ‘Franklin & Bash’s’ Jane Seymour on Heather Locklear Liplock; Hookers Vs Sex Surrogates
Diamond claims that at least some of the more outrageous material in the text was not his doing at all, blaming a ghostwriter who became a true “ghost” once the obligatory promotional opportunities arose. But the actor, who had never written a thing in his life, was also manipulated by the publisher, he says.
“No one wants to give a first time author 80,000 words,” Diamond explained on how he lost control of the text before he ever had it.
He talked to the ghostwriter a few times on the phone, but was shocked at what he saw when the book was released.
See video: ‘DWTS’: Elizabeth Berkley ‘So Excited’ to Be Back on Pills in ‘Saved by the Bell’ Tribute (Video)
What came out was a sloppy book with duplicated paragraphs, photos Diamond didn’t realize would be included were mid-narrative, as well as words and phrases the actor said he’s “never used in my life.”
Diamond claims his words were twisted to reflect “weird sexual” themes with regards to co-stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen often being called to the boss’s office. Diamond was not even given sections of “Behind the Bell” to proofread, he alleged — which could have spared both accuracy, and the actor a ton of public backlash.
While Diamond admitted to at least partial fault in his post-“Bell” blunders, he compared his being “duped” to Elizabeth Berkley’s “Showgirls” turn in the piece, lamenting how difficult it has been for the cast of the hit teen series to regain their careers.
Watch the full interview: