Mean Girls star Reneé Rapp responds to Regina George lesbian theory

Fans have theorised that character, originally played by Rachel McAdams, is actually queer

Mean Girls star Reneé Rapp has shared her thoughts on a fan theory about Regina George’s sexuality.

The Sex Lives of College Girls actor stars as high school queen bee Regina in Mean Girls, the musical film based on Tina Fey’s 2004 comedy and the subsequent Broadway musical.

You can read The Independent’s review of the new film here.

In the two decades since the original film was released, some fans have theorised that, while Regina (played by Rachel McAdams in the original film) dates men, she doesn’t like them and is actually a lesbian.

In a new interview, Rapp agreed with the theory that Regina doesn’t show any interest in the men she dates, telling The Times: “No, she doesn’t. She just uses them as a little pawn which is kind of what I’ve done with the men that I’ve dated in the past when I was dating men.”

Rapp added that as she herself is queer, she brought elements of herself to the role. “I’m gay,” she said. “I’m not out here playing her as a straight girl.”

She echoed this in an interview with Them, saying: “[Regina being a lesbian] was always my interpretation of it, still is my interpretation of it. It might not be other people’s, and I truly don’t care. It’s mine, and that’s how I feel.”

Rapp as Regina George in ‘Mean Girls’ (AP)

While speaking to The Times, Rapp also discussed the racist stereotypes present in the original Mean Girls film, and how they were removed for the musical movie.

“There are absolutely things in the script that I think Tina would be one of the first people to tell you, ‘Oh, yeah, there’s no way I would say that now,’” Rapp said, “which probably means we shouldn’t have said it historically.”

As with the 2004 film, the new Mean Girls centres on Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), a student moving to a new high school after being homeschooled in Kenya. There, she meets “the Plastics”, a group of popular girls led by Regina.

Rapp, Bebe Wood and Avantika appear as the Plastics, in roles originated by McAdams, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried respectively. Fey returns as Ms Norbury, the role she played in the original film too.

Mean Girls is released in cinemas on Friday 19 January.