Why Pete Wentz’s ‘One Tree Hill’ Cameo ‘Looks Bad’ for Him
One Tree Hill debuted on The CW in 2003, joining the ranks of teen soap operas. The show followed two brothers who had grown apart as they navigated life in the little town of Tree Hill, North Carolina. There is still a sizable following for the series, which starred James Lafferty, Sophia Bush, Bethany Joy Lenz, Chad Michael Murray, and Hilarie Burton.
Throughout its nine seasons, One Tree Hill had several celebrities make guest appearances on the show. One of them was Fall Out Boy’s, Pete Wentz. Fifteen years after the singer’s appearance on the show, Burton said Wentz’s cameo looked bad for him.
In ‘One Tree Hill’ Season 3, Pete Wentz cameoed as himself for three episodes
How could anyone forget Peyton’s relationship with the famous Fall Out Boy singer?
Wentz played himself in three episodes of the third season of One Tree Hill. The singer and his Fall Out Boy bandmates first appeared in Season 3’s “An Attempt to Tip the Scales” episode, where they played their hit song “Dance Dance.”
Wentz and Peyton Sawyer (played by Hilarie Burton) got close as the character was responsible for getting the singer’s band a gig at Tree Hill’s all-ages club Tric. Peyton also asked the band to play songs from her and Ellie’s album Friends with Benefit in an effort to raise money and awareness for cancer research.
Peyton and Wentz became so close that he went on a weekend cabin trip with her and her pals. And even though Burton and Wentz were in their 20s at the time, Burton’s character Peyton was a high school kid.
Hilarie Burton says Pete Wentz’s ‘One Tree Hill’ cameo looked bad for him
Burton and her former costars Bethany Joy Lenz and Sophia Bush debuted a podcast for iHeartRadio titled Drama Queens in 2021. In the podcast, the three ladies reflect on their time on One Tree Hill and discuss memorable guest stars like Wentz.
In an interview with People regarding the podcast, Burton discussed how Wentz’s One Tree Hill cameo looked bad on him. The actor said: “Poor Pete. Pete really thought he was just coming on the show to play, like, a cool dude. And the next thing you know, it looks like he’s having an affair with a high school girl. And that is forever now on TV.”
“I don’t think he realized our characters were in high school because we were all in our 20s in real life,” Burton continued. “And so it wasn’t until even I watched it back that I was like, ‘Oh, there’s a lot of insinuation in here. I thought we were just kissing buddies, but this looks bad in the edit.'”
What other TV shows has Pete Wentz appeared in?
Wentz has expanded his talents beyond music and has participated in several endeavors beyond Fall Out Boy. Besides his appearance on One Tree Hill, the singer has had several other acting gigs.
Along with a slew of other famous faces, Wentz sang a chorus line in Jimmy Kimmel’s “I’m F*cking Ben Affleck” video in 2008. The clip was a reaction to one made by Sarah Silverman, who was Kimmel’s girlfriend at the time. Silverman’s video was titled “I’m F*cking Matt Damon.” In 2014, he even hosted his own show on VH1 called Best Ink, where tattoo artists competed for a cash prize.
And according to his IMDb profile, the singer has also made several other cameo appearances as himself in shows like Californication, the Nickelodeon series School of Rock, The Eric Andre Show, Teen Titans Go!, and more. And while his cameo appearance on One Tree Hill may not have been his strongest performance, it certainly got people talking.
