Ed Westwick has left Gossip Girl beside themselves with frustration after he hinted he had news about the show – which is set to be rebooted.
The actor, 32, took to Instagram on Sunday to share a cryptic post with his 7.1m followers teasing some kind of announcement ‘at 1PM’.
Fans of the show believed he meant 1PM US time, but nothing happened. Others felt it could mean 1PM UK time, given that he is a British actor.
Anti-climax! Ed Westwick has left Gossip Girl beside themselves with frustration after he hinted he had news about the show – which is set to be rebooted
However, the star threw further confusion into the mix when he set an Instagram countdown on his Stories – which ran out on Monday morning.
Fans across the planet stayed up to eagerly await the end of the countdown to see what the news was, but were met with nothing but silence from the actor.
This led to a flurry of furious comments from Ed’s followers.
‘I’m so confused! one person posted, as the counter ran out.
Time’s up! The actor, 32, took to Instagram on Sunday to share a cryptic post with his 7.1m fans teasing some kind of announcement ‘at 1PM’ with a countdown clock
‘So am!’ another replied, as another demanded: ‘Where’s the announcement bro?’
‘I swear this better not be a scam I was so excited WTF?’ another remarked.
‘NOTHING HAPPENED!’ screeched someone else, as another added: ‘He JOKING with us!’
‘I don’t get it?????’ another wrote, followed by: ‘That is SO unfair. Why would he do that to us?’
Debating what side of the Atlantic the 1PM time referred to, someone posted: ‘I’m so confused did I miss it – is England time or…?’
‘But he posted a story with a timer…’ another reasoned.
Foreign fans stayed up for the end of the countdown, left raging at the anticlimax.
‘I got up early just for YOU!’ one indignant follower posted. ‘C’mon now buddy, I’m losing my beauty sleep!’ another wrote.
‘I’m f**king waiting. I can’t sleep!’ another posted.
Some did some digging and discovered that Ed – who played bad boy Chuck Bass on the original show, which aired from 2007-2012 and is set to be rebooted in 2021 – is flogging COVID-19 face masks online.
Savvy fans discovered the masks featured the infamous ‘xoxo’ saying on it, in the same font as Ed’s cryptic social media posts.
Fuming! Fans across the planet were met with nothing but silence from the actor
This led to mass disappointment, with many worrying that the ‘news’ was simply that he is selling Gossip Girl-themed masks.
His original post read: ‘Got a little something for you… Tomorrow 1pm.. Hint….xoxo.’
It also included a black box with ‘xoxo’ written in pink letters – the same pink letters that appear on his Chuck Bass-themed masks.
Late last month, HBO Max Chief Content Officer Kevin Reilly revealed to Vulture that the reboot of Gossip Girl would be delayed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
‘They hadn’t even started production yet; they were in pre-production and ready to roll,’ Reilly said at the time.
Prior to the delay, fans were expecting the series to be released later in 2020.
The new series will be set eight years after the original ended and will explore how social media surveillance and New York City have changed.
The reboot will see Doctor Sleep’s Emily Alyn Lind as the main character Audrey, with Kristen Bell returning to narrate as Gossip Girl.
The cast also includes Eli Brown, Adam Chanler-Berat, Thomas Doherty, Jonathan Fernandez, Tavi Gevinson, Jason Gotay, Zion Moreno and Whitney Peak.
Oh dear! Savvy fans discovered the masks featured the infamous ‘xoxo’ saying on it, in the same font as Ed’s cryptic social media posts
What a let down! This led to mass disappointment, with many worrying that the ‘news’ was simply that he is selling Gossip Girl-themed masks
Hint hint: His cryptic post included the ‘xoxo’ that Gossip Girl narrator Kristen Bell said in the show’s opening titles
Time to wait: HBO Max Chief Content Officer Kevin Reilly announced a Gossip Girl reboot was delayed until 2021; Leighton Meester and Westwick in a publicity still for Gossip Girl
Though Bell will be returning in the narration role, Ed said it was unlikely he or any of the other original cast members would return for the reboot in an interview with Hollywood News in May.
Asked if he would like to make an appearance, the actor mused: ‘Absolutely I would, but I don’t know that they want us!
‘I don’t know anything about this reboot except from what you guys have read… I’m not sure how our characters would fit in.
‘I’m so lucky to have known those people, to have played that role and to have been in New York City and doing that. Are you kidding me, I’d go back in a heartbeat, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.’
Changes: The new series will take place eight years after the original ended and explores changes in social media and New York City; Chace Crawford, Blake Lively and Westwick in a still from Gossip Girl
He’s game: Westwick told Hollywood News in May that he’d love to be on the show, ‘but I don’t know that they want us!’; pictured in 2018