Why 10 Things I Hate About You Actor Andrew Keegan Finally Addressed Cult Leader Claims

One thing Andrew Keegan hates? Clickbait.  

After headlines insinuated the 10 Things I Hate About You actor was once a cult leader, Andrew finally decided to set the record straight. Now, he's reflecting on why he chose to speak to the rumors with friend Danielle Fishel in the first place.

"We were doing the podcast for Pod Meets World, and Danielle is a dear friend and we were just having a very friend to friend conversation on the podcast," he exclusively told E! News at 90s Con March 16. "It wasn't intended to necessarily spread—people were excited about it. But yeah it's an interesting situation."

He added, "I really focused in that conversation about how it's really clickbait. They use a word like cult and make it something more than it really is."

So what was it, really, when the ‘90s star bought an abandoned temple in 2014 to host a series of spiritual gatherings?

"There was this interesting group of hippie types, if you will, in Venice," Andrew explained in the Feb. 12 podcast episode. "I was connected with some folks and we had this opportunity. This old Hare Krishna Temple, it was sitting there empty and we were like, ‘Why don't we get some people together, and let's open this place up?'"

The group became known as Full Circle, and it included the 7th Heaven alum and some friends organizing dinner parties and spiritual events at the temple over three years. But one thing Andrew hates about the conversation that's evolved are any implications of a kind of organized religion. 

"There was no doctrine," the 45-year-old explained. "We were just getting people together. For all intents and purposes, it was a really cool community center for a bunch of people in Venice for a few years."

And in looking back, Andrew—who is dad to daughter Aiya Rose, 7, with partner Arista Ilona—appreciates what he and the group at large experienced during that time. 

"We opened it up and spent three years and really did build an amazing friend group," he reflected. "We went through something really significant from 2014 to 2017. It was really beneficial to a lot of people."

He continued, "I still hear about it now, where people are like, ‘That was such a great time.'"

But while Andrew's time with Full Circle coincided with time away from the spotlight, these days the Party of Five alum is an active part of the Hollywood scene.  

"I still work," he explained to E! News. "I have other businesses, but I just did a pilot a couple weeks ago, and I'm doing another one—so keeping busy."

But he joked, "I live in Venice Beach, which feels like leaving. It's so far away from Hollywood."