CeleBuzz! April 6th 2012
Shannen Doherty is coming back to television. The 90210 icon, 40, stars in the new reality show Shannen Says which follows her and groom-to-be, famed photographer Kurt Iswarienko.

Celebuzz spoke with Shannen about the show, which gives a glimpse into her life after one of the most popular shows on the small screen.

In the first episode, one of Shannen’s opening lines is, “You think you know me? Everybody does.” So we asked, what does she think some of the biggest misconceptions are about her serialized life?

“Probably that people think I am the same person I was at 18 or 22,” Shannen told Celebuzz.

“I think that it’s bizarre that people don’t realize that I was a kid — and now I am a woman who has grown up, quite a bit. People grow and they evolve. They change and they settle down. When you’re done testing the water and pushing the boundaries, you become more comfortable with yourself.”

Continued Doherty:

That whole time period in your life back then is all about finding out who you are and in the process you make mistakes. You fall flat on your face, everyone does. If you didn’t make mistakes you wouldn’t be human and you wouldn’t have an interesting life as far as I’m concerned! They just don’t seem to ever cut me a break and think, ‘Oh, maybe she’s grown up,” and that is definitely the biggest misconception of me. That applies to the show. I wanted to do a show that was really honest, authentic — and truthful.

One star who has had her fair share of mistakes is Lindsay Lohan, 25, who is on the cusp of another career comeback. The paparazzi have — literally — documented her every stumble. Given what Shannen told us — that you “fall flat on your face, everyone does” — we asked if she sympathized with the Mean Girl star’s trials and tribulations?

I don’t follow the gossip or any of that, so I don’t even know what is happening in that girl’s life right now. I do know what she was facing, and I do think that living your life in the public eye is incredibly hard, but I also think it’s something we take on. She continues to take it on — and with that comes a sense of responsibility and decorum.

Shannen continued:

[Lindsay] is still very young. I was young and I made mistakes as we all do. Yes, we do have to have some sympathy, but we also have have to have a sense of responsibility and accountability. I think most people in the world are forgiving, but when you keep making the same mistakes over and over again and you keep apologizing for it but you never learn from it, then I think people are not forgiving because your apologies don’t bring truth. I don’t know if that’s the case with her, but my heart definitely goes out to anyone– whether it is Lindsay Lohan or Joe Shmoe– who is struggling, or has family issues, or anything else. I think you find somebody that you look up to or mentor you and learn from them.

As an industry veteran, Shannen also offered young stars some advice to deal with the paparazzi.

“What [the paparazzi] want is a shot of you doing something awful, and if they are not getting it they usually get bored and they won’t harass you as much,” she said. “So just conduct yourself properly and you won’t have as many problems. If you’re conducting yourself properly, some may want a shot or two and some may cross the line occasionally, but its not as bad as some of these kids right now. It’s what you put out there.”

Or… bargain with them! Shannen told Celebuzz how she has dealt with being hounded.

I was just in New York promoting [Shannen Says] and a paparazzi was following us on a bicycle. We’re in traffic, there’s no way we can lose him. So I pullover and I had the driver ask him, ‘If she gets out and takes a picture will you leave her alone?’ and he said yes. So I got out of the car, took the picture and he rode off into the sunset or whatever the hell he went to his computer to upload the photo. He respected my space and my privacy, and I think if you hold yourself to a certain standard and if you treat people with respect and kindness, most of the time they will treat you back the same. It’s a lesson I’ve learned with age and personal growth.

Shannen shared so much more with us, so be sure to come back to Celebuzz next week where she shares secrets from the show, talks about life now that she’s married — and reminisces about those 90210 days.

Plus, don’t miss Shannen Says when the series premieres on WE tv Tuesday, April 10 at 10 PM EST.