Busy Philipps Looks Back on ‘Insanely Inappropriate’ Dawson’s Creek Storyline Involving Joshua Jackson (Exclusive)

Busy Philipps is reflecting on a controversial Dawson’s Creek storyline involving Joshua Jackson.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE for her partnership with Zumba, the actress, 46, spoke about a storyline in the hit teen drama series that featured her former onscreen boyfriend (Jackson) and his character’s teacher.

“They’re not even together,” Philipps says of her character Audrey Liddell and Jackson’s character Pacey Witter’s relationship status in the pilot episode. “He’s going to have a really insanely inappropriate relationship with a teacher, which by the way, is so wild. And just goes to show you culturally how much we have changed for the better, right?”

Prior to Philipps’ arrival in season 5, 15-year-old Pacey becomes romantically attracted to his 36-year-old English teacher, Tamara Jacobs (played by Leann Hunley). During the series’ first season, Pacey pursues Tamara and eventually loses his virginity to her before the teacher leaves their fictional town of Capeside, Mass.

During the recent Dawson’s Creek Class Reunion charity event, Philipps didn’t play her character Audrey but instead read the role of Tamara.

“[Series creator] Kevin Williamson didn’t write the part of Audrey, he wasn’t a part of that,” Philipps explains to PEOPLE. “He was already long gone from the show when they went to college, and my character was added.”

“After the show, I said, ‘Well, Kevin, I guess you did write a part for me on Dawson’s Creek. You just didn’t know that it would take 20 years for me to be the right age to play it,’ ” she jokes, referring to playing Tamara at the cast reunion.

Philipps and Jackson, 47, were joined by costars Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith and Meredith Monroe at the one-night-only charity event on Sept. 22 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City.

The reunion — which was spearheaded by Williams, 45 — featured a live reading of Dawson’s Creek‘s 1998 pilot episode to raise awareness for F Cancer and show support for series star James Van Der Beek, 48, amid his battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer.

The part of Dawson was read by Lin-Manuel Miranda, while his former Hamilton costar Renée Elise Goldsberry narrated and hosted the evening.

Jackson has previously spoken out about the risqué storyline. In 2021, he told Business Insider that he didn’t necessarily believe that the plot was handled poorly, and that he felt it was important to explore that part of young adulthood.

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“I think it is real for a younger person to have sexual desires for an older person,” he said of the plotline. “But I think the onus remains upon the older person to be the adult and recognize that that’s inappropriate.”

Jackson said he “wasn’t sure” whether or not the series should have handled Pacey’s romantic encounter with his teacher differently.

“Do I think that the show should have judged it differently? Maybe, because it’s part and parcel of that double standard,” he said, adding, “I think it’s necessary to show storylines that have humans making mistakes. I don’t think we presented it as a beautiful or romantic thing.”