Emily Osment explains why she skipped ‘Hannah Montana’ 20th anniversary special

The actress, now 34, played the best friend of Miley Cyrus in the "Hannah Montana" television series.
Emily Osment: The actress played the best friend of Miley Cyrus in the "Hannah Montana" television series. (Savion Washington/WireImage)

Emily Osment has a perfectly good reason why she missed the “Hannah Montana” 20th anniversary special on Tuesday -- she was busy taping episodes for her current television series.

Osment, 34, who played Miley Stewart’s best friend Lilly Truscott in 100 episodes of the Disney Channel series from 2006 to 2011, also did not attend the special’s premiere, Deadline reported.

But there was no bad blood between Osment, series star Miley Cyrus and other cast members, E! Online reported. The actress explained in an Instagram post on March 23 that she was filming episodes of her series, “George & Mandy’s First Marriage.”

“‘Hannah Montana’ changed my life, it gave me a lifelong respect for this medium of comedy, it taught me discipline, patience, timing and respect working in an adult space so young,” Osment said in a video that included her co-star, Montana Jordan. “I’ve met thousands of HM fans over the years, fans that now have children watching this show and fans that literally work beside me every day, like Montana. He’s seen every episode, don’t be fooled.

“I can’t tell you what your sweet messages mean to me and how lucky I feel to have been apart of this once in a generation goliath of a television show,” Osment continued in her post. “Thank you for letting me into your living rooms and I hope to still be there many years from now. Would never be where I am without you guys, working on another beautiful show I love so dearly.”

Osment added a heart emoji and signed the post as “Lilly.”

“Hannah Montana” launched Cyrus’ musical career, which has included 14 platinum albums, 18 gold records and two feature films.

The show was nominated for four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Children’s Program, Variety reported.

There were also video games and a myriad of products linked to the show.

“Hannah Montana” starred Cyrus, along with her father Billy Ray Cyrus. Osment, Jason Earles and Mitchel Musso also starred in the show, according to IMDb.com.

After “Hannah Montana,” Osment voiced characters on animated shows such as “Family Guy” and “Rainbow Brite,” E! Online reported. She also had roles on shows such as “Mom,” “Young & Hungry,” “Cleaners” and “The Kominsky Method.”

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