Top 10 Most Shocking Teen Movie Betrayals
#10: John Tucker’s Girlfriends Find Out “John Tucker Must Die” (2006)
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Imagine you’re dating the most popular person at school, and you find out they’ve been cheating on you with numerous others—what do you do? Well, a volleyball court seems as good a place as any to battle it out. But, wait, all of you are victims of their betrayal, so why are you all fighting each other? New girl Kate convinces the trio not to get mad but to get even. Betrayals all around here! Of course, the girls’ wacky schemes to embarrass their lying and unfaithful paramour feel rather warranted, and the real betrayal has to be John’s cheating. Unfortunately, things do get wildly out of hand, and does John truly learn his lesson?
#9: Mia Gets Ambushed at the Beach Party “The Princess Diaries” (2001)
All Mia wanted was for her crush, Josh, to notice her. And now that he knows she’s a princess, he finally has! Only, it’s all a setup to give him his 15 minutes of fame. The paparazzi gatecrash the beach party Mia and Josh attend and, instead of helping her, Josh ensures they get their money shot. As Mia runs away, Lana and her cronies also play the ‘Pretend to be Mia’s Friend’ game, only to humiliate her further. To add insult to injury, Mia’s blamed for the whole ordeal. While we’re on poor Mia, what about when Viscount Mabrey convinced the Genovian parliament to force her into marriage. He also tried to sabotage her every move! Now, that’s unforgivable.
#8: Brianna & Gabriella Team Up with Shelby to Humiliate Sam “A Cinderella Story” (2004)
Sam’s step-family were hardly upstanding individuals, so it wasn’t exactly surprising anytime they did something despicable. However, Brianna and Gabriella hit a new low when they gave Sam’s emails to Shelby so she could publicly embarrass her. It’s such a gross invasion of privacy, and Sam’s understandably left heartbroken and mortified. Her only sliver of hope was that she get accepted to Princeton and leave it all behind. Unfortunately, Fiona wanted the worst for her and switched out the acceptance letter for a fake rejection. Although Sam does ultimately get her fairytale ending, we just can’t forgive or forget what they all put her through.
#7: Olive Takes the Rap for Mrs. Griffith & Micah’s Affair “Easy A” (2010)
School staff aren’t perfect; they’re just human beings like all of us. But, you do expect them to uphold a certain amount of professionalism — especially when it comes to students. (This might include not sleeping with them, but alas.) Mrs. Griffith, the guidance counselor, reveals that she’s been engaged in an affair with a student and that she could lose everything if it gets discovered. The solution: throw Olive under the bus. She already has a reputation, so why not pile on? Olive doesn’t want to see her favorite teacher, Mrs. Griffith’s husband, get hurt, so she agrees to take the blame. Of course, sooner or later, the truth comes out. But hey, actions have consequences, and even grown adults need to learn that.
#6: Torrance Learns the Truth about Their Routines “Bring It On” (2000)
This classic aughts cheerleading flick has some pretty reprehensible moments of betrayal. Let’s not forget that Aaron double-crosses his girlfriend, sells her out, and cheats on her. Luckily, the breakup scene’s incredibly satisfying. However, it’s Big Red’s deception that left us appalled. During cheerleading practice, Missy notices something strangely familiar about their routines. We learn that Big Red had been stealing routines from the Clovers the entire time she was captain – and she’s not even remorseful. The Toros are also more concerned with maintaining their reputation than immediately righting this wrong. Unsurprisingly, we found ourselves cheering in the Clovers’ corner. They deserved to win.
#5: Who Was Really Selling Out Poise? “13 Going on 30” (2004)
After Jenna sells out her best friend for popularity, her life takes a bit of a left turn. Interestingly, unlike our other entries, this betrayal surprised the betrayer as much as it did the audience. Having skipped about 17 years of her life, naturally, there are some gaps in Jenna’s memory. One of them, and this is kind of a biggie, is double-crossing her employer with their competitor. She learns about it from Lucy, who hoodwinks her in return by stealing the editor-in-chief job Sparkle initially intended to offer Jenna. While this is totally in character for Lucy, Jenna’s horrified by the person she became. Well, you know what they say: careful what you wish for.
#4: J.D. Lets Veronica Take the Wrong Mug “Heathers” (1989)
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High school can be fraught with social politics, but usually, these things are fought out, and everyone walks away… alive. J.D.’s determination to reset the social status quo has a more ominous and permanent outcome. After a fallout with Heather Chandler, Veronica and J.D. head to her house the morning after a party to pull a little hangover prank on her. Whereas Veronica makes a gross but harmless concoction to serve Heather, J.D. makes a pretty sick joke and pours a cup of drain cleaner. When Veronica takes the wrong mug to Heather, J.D. realizes it and lets her go through with it. Then, he convinces her to cover up the murder and later makes her an accomplice to his crimes. This is not boyfriend behavior, Veronica!
#3: The Bet “She’s All That” (1999)
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It’s the age old teen movie trope: boy and friends bet they can win over and transform the social outcast. We saw it in “10 Things I Hate About You” and we see it here. The outcome is always the same: the girl finds out, and she’s devastated. After all, how would you feel if you discovered that the person you were into was only hanging out with you as a bet? Even if they did develop genuine feelings in the process, it’s pretty unforgivable. Honestly, we feel betrayed that Zack was even given a second chance.
#2: Simon Gets Outed “Love, Simon” (2018)
Coming out is a personal journey and one that everyone should be entitled to do at their own pace. However, when Martin spots Simon’s emails to “Blue” on a school computer, he uses them to blackmail our protagonist. Later, after embarrassing himself at a football game, Martin directs his anger and humiliation at Simon. He shares the emails online to distract his classmates from his mortifying public rejection, outing Simon in the process. No matter what, we think we can all agree that a ginormous red line was crossed here. Outing someone is deplorable and totally unforgivable. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Regina Gets Back with Aaron, “Mean Girls” (2004) The Catalyst for the Plan to Take Down the Plastics Charlie Kisses Sam, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012) His Girlfriend Is Right There! The Prom Flashback, “Never Been Kissed” (1999) Josie’s High School Prom Was a Night To... Forget Emma’s Inclusive Prom Gets Sabotaged, “The Prom” (2020) She’s Deceived by the Entire School & Alyssa Breaks Her Heart Secrecy & Cover-Ups, “Jawbreaker” (1999) A Lot of Betrayal Goes into Covering up a Murder
#1: The Entire Premise “Cruel Intentions” (1999)
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There’s so much deception and treachery in this film it could easily be renamed “Betrayal: The Movie.” At the center of it all is Kathryn Merteuil. She’s the puppet master behind much of the drama that unfolds. Kathryn manipulates Cecile to exact revenge on her ex and challenges her step-brother to that infamous bet. Not that he’s totally innocent either. Sebastian convinces Annette to have sex with him and then tosses her aside after Kathryn reminds him what’s at stake. Arguably, the most shocking moment is when Sebastian discovers that Kathryn has just been playing him all along. It all ends in tragedy when Sebastian gives up his life to save Annette. At his funeral, the betrayer becomes the betray-ee as her transgressions are exposed.
