Sarah Michelle Gellar says she was sued by McDonald's aged 5 after starring in a Burger King commercial

• Sarah Michelle Gellar reminisced about her Burger King commercial that got her sued by McDonald's.
• She told BuzzFeed UK that she was "the first person to say another competitor's name in a job."

Sarah Michelle Gellar has opened up about how, at the age of 5, she found herself caught in the middle of a groundbreaking lawsuit between fast food giants McDonald's and Burger King.

16 years before she landed her breakout role in teen drama "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," the now 45-year-old actor got in legal trouble as a result of a job she booked with one of the eateries in 1981.

"This is really funny. This was this big campaign that I did for Burger King and I was 5," she said after watching back footage of the commercial as part of a BuzzFeed UK video.

"I was the first person to say another competitor's name in a job, and so McDonald's turned around and sued the advertising agency, Burger King, and me at 5," the "Wolf Pack" star continued.

In the advert, Gellar sits on a bench outside a Burger King restaurant and tells the audience that their hamburgers are better because, unlike McDonald's, they don't reduce their portion sizes for children.

It marked the first time in television history that a company had used a competitor's name in a critical way and, as Gellar stated, resulted in a lawsuit that was eventually settled out of court.

However, Gellar said that what she remembers most about filming the TV spot for the burger chain was discovering what really goes on behind the scenes in food commercials.

"What I learned on that day is that when they make the burgers for commercials, they glue each seed on it to make it look all perfect and beautiful, and then they shellac it, and they paint it," she said.

"You guys, TV is not real," she joked.

"I didn't eat a lot of fast food at the time, and when we were there, I just wanted a burger," she went on to say, adding that she was "so excited" as her mom had told her she was allowed to eat the burger before realizing that the food was actually inedible.

The "Cruel Intentions" star has previously opened up about the case with McDonald's.

Speaking to the Sunday Express in 2004, the actor said that while "banned is a strong word," she "wasn't allowed to eat" at the popular fast food restaurant while the lawsuit was going on.

"It was tough because, when you're a little kid, McDonald's is where all your friends have their birthday parties, so I missed out on a lot of apple pies," Gellar said.