What happens when a former teen star tries to emulate Paris Hilton’s career track? In the case of Dustin Diamond, you get Screeched — a 2006 adult film based on his Saved by the Bell character.
Speaking with Oprah: Where Are They Now?, Dustin said the video was just supposed to be an easy way to make money. Unfortunately, it turned into the biggest embarrassment of his life. (Who would have guessed?)
“‘You got to be worth at least a million,’ Dustin said of a friend’s comment after learning Paris made $14 million from her tape. “And I thought, ‘Yeah — yeah, maybe.’ And that’s as simple as it was.”
Although the 36-year-old actor now regrets that decision, it could have been worse.
“In my stupidity, I thought I could totally fake this. I could get a stunt person to take my place,” he admitted. “It’s my face but nothing else. Looking back now in my 30s, I realize that was really dumb.” (Funny, because I think not actually doing nude scenes in a sex tape is a good thing!)
Dustin said he did make some money off of the tape, but the monetary gain was all overshadowed by the professional fallout: “People to this day look down on me. There’s a lot of people [who think] ‘how disgusting of you.’
Even though Screeched tops Dustin’s list of regrets, he’s also disappointed by the reaction to his 2009 tell-all book, Behind the Bell.
“I was a first-time author, so they had a ghostwriter. I talked to a guy a few times, so the book has some truth in it — and a lot of the stories were just kind of throwaways,” he said. “I have nothing but good thoughts and memories towards everybody,” he says. “I expected that I was going to be sent to copy to proofread and [say] ‘Okay, thumbs-up or thumbs-down.’ And I was sent the copy, ‘Oh, this is done.'”
Most recently, Dustin appeared alongside Courtney Stodden on Celebrity Big Brother U.K.. He also appeared on Celebrity Fit Club and participated in a fairly infamous Celebrity Boxing match. Speaking to Oprah’s show, he attributed these decisions to his misplaced rebellious phase.
“As I mature I realize, wow, I was kind of going through my rebellious teens in my 20s.”
