Why Isn’t Emily Osment in the ‘Hannah Montana’ Special?

Unfortunately, despite what the opening theme of Hannah Montana claims, you can’t always get the best of both worlds.

Such is the case for actress-singer Emily Osment, who was unable to participate in Disney’s Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special.

The special celebration, which begins streaming exclusively on Disney+ and Hulu on Tuesday (March 24), marks 20 years of the hit Disney Channel series.

The beloved show, which premiered on March 24, 2006, launched the career of Miley Cyrus and spawned a successful multi-media franchise including merchandise, music albums, movies, and more.

**Is Emily Osment in the Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special?**

Hours before the special’s release, Osment, who played Miley’s excitable best friend Lilly Truscott in the show, finally revealed why she was unable to participate in the special.

Posted to her Instagram account, in a video taken on set of her CBS sitcom Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, Osment explained, “And that’s why I was not able to be a part of the 20-year reunion because we are here shooting our show!”

Osment added that she “wanted to say hello and thank you to everybody that has stuck by us for all these years,” sharing, “I’m so grateful that you guys all still love this show. I’m so proud to be a part of it.”

In the caption, the actress, who was 14 years old when the first season of Hannah Montana premiered on television, opened up about her experience on the show and reflected on the two decades that have passed since she first played Lilly.

“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. 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...” Osment wrote.

“I can’t tell you what your sweet messages mean to me and how lucky I feel to have been a part of this once in a generation goliath of a television show. 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. With all my heart, THANK YOU!” she continued, signing off with a heart emoji and her character’s name: “Lilly.”

In early February, Osment tugged at longtime Hannah Montana fans’ heartstrings when she shared a photo of the original script for the show’s episode titled “That’s What Friends Are For?”

Ironically, the episode, which filmed in 2007, was directed by Osment’s Georgie & Mandy’s First Wedding director Mark Cendrowski.

“On the heels of our Hannah Montana 20 year milestone, our beloved Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage director Mark Cendrowski brought in his old copy of an HM episode this morning. Proves a few things. First, that I’m old, second that I’m still doing what I love but mostly, MOSTLY that Mark won’t leave me alone after all these years and I’m really starting to freak out about it,” Osment joked in the caption of the post.