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Melissa Joan Hart recently stirred controversy among both feline enthusiasts and Sabrina the Teenage Witch aficionados with an Instagram video that didn’t land as intended.
The actress, 49, took to Instagram on Thursday, February 19, to share a video of herself stroking a stuffed black cat with the words “when people ask me if I’m a cat person” on the screen. She then punted the stuffed cat across the room before the video quickly changed to her petting a real-life dog.
The video was accompanied by the iconic theme from her hit series, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which aired from 1996 to 2003 and famously featured a witty, talking black cat named Salem, with the voice provided by Nick Bakay.
Attempting to preempt criticism, the former Melissa & Joey star added a light-hearted caption: “No Salems were harmed in the filming of this silly video. PS I like cats, but I love dogs!”
However, her efforts weren’t enough to quell the negative reactions. Many viewers expressed their dissatisfaction in the comments section.
“This isn’t your best work. Still a fan, but this was hard to watch,” one follower commented, reflecting the general sentiment.
“This was unnecessary :/ People hurt black cats every day. This is not nice :/ Tasteless…” another added.
“Awwww but we all got black cats because of you!” one fan wrote.
“Not really a cat person either, but this wasn’t a nice thing to post,” another commenter wrote.
Shortly after the video gained some negative attention, the Drive Me Crazy star shared an update via an Instagram Story, filmed while she pedaled a stationary bike.
“Wanted to let you know, stuffed Salem is fine, it’s not the one from the show, it’s just one I bought on Amazon to go to Comic Con sometimes to have some fun,” she said, turning the camera to show the stuffed cat. “Look, he’s watching me workout, see. He’s totally fine. We’re all good over here.”