The 'Hills: New Beginnings' star opened up to ET about some of the show's drama and his popularity among fans.
With Brandon Thomas Lee playing a major role in the recent revival series The Hills: New Beginning, the 23-year-old has become something of a fan favorite, and he says it's a surprising, new experience.
Lee recently sat down with ET Live's Jason Carter, where he opened up on being a part of the MTV reality series, and how he was "nervous at first" about joining the cast.
"I'm a very open, very honest person. If you're my friend, you're going to know things about my life, and you're going to get to experience me in ways no one ever has. And, in this, the audience is one of my friends," Lee reflected.
Because of this position in the spotlight, Lee said he was worried about how people were going to react to him, but that fear quickly subsided.
"Eventually, that all goes away and you're like, 'You know what, people are just going to have to deal with it,'" he shared. "Whether they like me or not, I'm gonna be honest and try to give them a good show."
However, it seems that fans have embraced him and Lee has seemed to take on the role of this season's "heartthrob" with some fans declaring him to the "new Brody Jenner."
"You see, I know him very personally. So to say that I'm the new Brody Jenner makes me laugh," Lee said, when asked about the honorary title. "But I definitely appreciate all the love I've been getting."
"I get like 400, 500 DMs a day about this show. I really appreciate it. I didn't know if people would take to me and like me and identify with my story," Lee said. "What I was surprised about is how many people are messaging me talking about how they admire that I'm sober... I was surprised by the positive reinforcement."
While he's been a hit with viewers, he hasn't been getting along as well with co-star Spencer Pratt. Pratt and Lee's pal Brody have been feuding all season, and recently Lee discovered that Pratt had blocked his number.
"I've been texting him, but my number's blocked so my texts won't even go through!" said Lee, who claimed to not understand exactly what he'd done to incur Pratt's anger. "I think it was because I went on his sister's podcast. Like, just for going on his sister's podcast. That's how bad their relationship is. It's insane."
Spencer and sister Stephanie Pratt have been battling for months over various perceived insults and slights, with Stephanie declaring that she doesn't even see Spencer as her brother. According to Lee, even with filming on the first season having wrapped, the feud is "100 percent" still raging.
"And I'm like caught in the middle of all this drama. It's nuts," Lee said, explaining that he doesn't feel like it's justified for the animosity between himself and his co-star. "I'm not being shady, I'm not going at him… so I feel like him [blocking me] is a dramatic overreaction to get attention."
"[And] I got bigger things to deal with," Lee added. "I've got a career. Another show of mine comes out next week. I've got another project that I'll be going to New York to film. I just don't have time for Spencer blocking me."
The Hills: New Beginnings airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.
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