Ever since she starred in the ‘Mean Girls’ musical film, Renee Rapp has been tasting sweet success with both her acting and singing careers as she continues to bask in the success of the musical.
Apart from her great performance in the film, Renee has also been hailed as a gay icon by the current generation, especially with her sapphic music and bold statements. Here’s what she has to say about dealing with her sexuality while she builds a name for herself in the industry.
Renee Rapp Opens Up On Her Sexuality
Before her appearance on SNL this January, Renee identified as bisexual. However, during her appearance on the show, she made a last minute decision to publicly come out as lesbian. Talking about her coming to terms with her own sexuality in an interview with Them, the singer says, “I had privately been calling myself a lesbian, saying it to my friends, and I heard a couple comments that really hurt my feelings.”
As for the SNL bit, Rapp explained exactly what happened. There was a line for her introduction where Celeste Yim says, “We need assistance from our little bisexual intern Reneé” who later asked if they can change the term bisexual to gay. Renee then recalled feeling confused and scared about changing her public identity so fast. “I didn’t want to do it and be like, ‘Oh my God, I’m not using the word ‘bisexual,’ and make bisexual people feel shitty.’ I also didn’t want to be like, ‘OK, I’m ‘gay’ and have all the lesbians be like, ‘Say you’re bisexual, then.’ I felt so wrapped up and scared.”
She then recalled calling a good friend and talking it out who advised her, “I think it would be really f***ing sick if you came out as a lesbian on SNL,” and Rapp did exactly that. As for the aftermath, she decided to stay off her phone as she recalled, “I was so f***ing terrified and felt so shitty but then it was just, like, a thing, and it felt good.”
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Renee Rapp’s Past Stances On Her Sexuality
In 2021, Renee had said, “I usually just use the term queer. I’m 21, and there will be days that I go to my partner and be like, ‘We need to have a conversation because I think I’m this.’ And then I’ll come back and be like, ‘No, I’m this’” regarding her sexuality.
Apart from that, she had also talked about how she feels homophobic towards herself as she confessed, “I have a lot of internalized homophobia. I was raised in the South, and I don’t want to use that as an excuse, but like queerness was not something that was celebrated, right? In high school, I had already sort of built up my own mental walls about what queerness was to me, so I was busy judging myself and probably other people in the process.”
She then talked about how her character Leighton in ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls‘ helped her with her sexuality, “So much of Leighton is me, and so much of Leighton has helped me understand myself. I don’t think that I had an amazing relationship to my queerness, but through playing Leighton, I feel like I’m being much more openly queer, because it is a public part of who I am, and I’m very proud of that.”
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