'Dawson's Creek' Parents 'Blindsided' and 'Hurt' After Being Left Out of the Reunion

Mary-Margaret Humes and John Wesley Shipp Jr. -- who played Dawson's parents Gail and Mitch Leery -- were nowhere to be found, despite appearing in more episodes than Busy Philipps and Meredith Monroe, who both joined James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Michelle Williams, Kerr Smith and Mary Beth Peil at the reunion.

Though Humes and Shipp Jr. apparently did phone interviews with the publication in celebration of the show's 20th anniversary, they claim to have no idea a photoshoot was happening with their former co-stars. Since the photos dropped, Humes said they have been inundated with fan messages about not being included.

"Okay, so let me get this off my chest as the initial hurt has subsided just a bit...I send an enormous amount of love and shout outs to the thousands of followers messages and ❤️'s that both John Wesley Shipp Jr. and I have read about being left out of Entertainment Weekly's 'Dawson's Creek' 'reunion' photos," she posted on Instagram, alongside a Now & Then photo of the two.

"This was their choice...not ours...it was done behind our backs and we both were literally blindsided by it when we woke up yesterday in NYC and LA...we both did a short telephone interview after the fact but were never told about the reunion," she continued. "For months I have been posting behind-the-scenes photos to share my experiences of six years on this show...we were a family & I know how much the photos mean to you from all the love you send me in comments...Yes, I do read them. Having said that... I will continue to post because yes, I have so much more to share."

Humes made it clear their beef is with the magazine, not their costars, though. "For the portion of our family that did appear in these photos...congratulations...you look great and I love you," she added. "I only wish I had been given the opportunity to have said it to your faces. Such a shame."

Julie Plec, a writer and producer who worked with creator Kevin Williamson on the series, chimed in on the issue in Humes' comments, saying how important she believed Dawson's parents were to the series as a whole.

"Funny, because after I spoke briefly to EW I almost called back to add comments about you and JWS as being such important parts of that social experience. Because you absolutely were," she wrote. "I spent a very brief amount of time in your world but you made me feel so much a part of it and were so warm and such the center of love in that experience. Your pictures are so much fun to see because I know how much love there was as you documented that whole experience. So thank you for sharing it all with everybody here."

Shipp later shared a fan edit showing the two of them in the background of EW's photos. The magazine had no comment on their omission.