Hilary Duff found herself at a loss for words when the majority of a studio audience revealed they were unfamiliar with her early crush, Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
While appearing on “The Jennifer Hudson Show” on Wednesday, the former Disney star asked a fan about her childhood crush, bringing up the iconic JTT. “Do you remember JTT?” she inquired, only to realize that her reference didn’t resonate with the younger audience.
“You’re too young,” Duff remarked, addressing the fan before turning to the entire audience. “Can anyone here raise their hand if they know who I’m referring to?”
To her astonishment, she observed, “It’s not even half.”
Attempting to enlighten the crowd, Duff continued, “He was on ‘Home Improvement,’” highlighting the popular 1990s sitcom that featured Tim Allen.
“He was also in ‘The Lion King.’ He was a kid. He was the voice of Simba, right?” she continued.
Thomas’ best-known role was Randy Taylor in “Home Improvement.”
The 44-year-old actor also portrayed Tom Sawyer in the 1995 film “Tom and Huck” and voiced Pinocchio in the 1996 film “The Adventures of Pinocchio.”
He later took on smaller roles on TV, with his last credit being as a recurring guest star on another Allen-led sitcom “Last Man Standing” from 2013 to 2015.
Thomas, however, slowly made his exit from Hollywood and studied history and philosophy at Harvard University.
He later graduated from Columbia University in 2010 and attended St. Andrews University in Scotland.
In 2013, the former ’90s heartthrob got candid about his decision to step away from the limelight, telling People, “I’d been going nonstop since I was 8 years old.”
“I wanted to go to school, to travel and have a bit of a break,” Thomas continued. “I never took the fame too seriously. It was a great period in my life, but it doesn’t define me.”
Thomas’ last public appearance was when he stepped out of a convenience store in Southern California in 2023.
Two years before that, he was photographed walking his dog.