© 2023 Astrida Valigorsky
Reneé Rapp is opening up like never before about her journey with sexuality and learning to own who she truly is. In a revealing new interview with Them, the 24-year-old Mean Girls actress shed light on her experience coming out publicly as a lesbian after previously identifying as bisexual.
Rapp shared that while she had been privately accepting her lesbian identity amongst close friends, a few hurtful comments gave her pause when considering going public. “I had privately been calling myself a lesbian, saying it to my friends, and I heard a couple comments that really hurt my feelings,” she said. One sarcastic quip in particular stood out: “Oh, amazing, you’re coming out again. Congratulations.”
The remarks left Rapp questioning whether she was ready to be openly proud about her sexuality. But then an unexpected opportunity arose when she earned a cameo on SNL this past January. The original script referred to her character as Reneé the “bisexual intern,” but Rapp saw it as a chance to take a bold step. She asked the writers if she could change the descriptor to “lesbian” instead.
“They were so sweet — and obviously, they were going to be so sweet,” Rapp said. “But to me, I was thinking about being so afraid to publicly change my identity. I didn’t want anybody to be upset with me.” A friend gave her the encouragement she needed, convincing her that embracing her truth on such a major platform would be “freaking amazing.”
She made the change and waited with bated breath for the reaction. Though terrified of the responses, Rapp has found empowerment in owning who she is without hesitation.
