Renee Rapp Opens Up About Her Body Shaming Experience As A Performer
By Sherah Janay Ndjongo
August 26, 2023
Renée Rapp got very real about a troubling experience she faced during her first major performing gig as the lead role in the Broadway adaptation of Mean Girls.
The multi-talent rising star is recognized for her infectious solo music and as Leighton on the popular television series The Sex Lives of College Girls, but her journey to fame started a while before then.
Rapp portrayed the iconic character of Regina George at only 19 years old, moving to New York City alone to join the cast. Although, for an up-and-coming entertainer, this sounds like a dream scenario, the situation ended up being much less empowering than what Rapp expected it to be.
In an exclusive interview with The Guardian published on Wednesday, Rapp revealed the truth about what she faced during her musical theatre stint, "They would say some vile f*cking things to me about my body..." Rapp was referring to individuals working on the production during a time when she was battling an eating disorder.
The comments allegedly became so serious, affecting Rapp's health physically and mentally, that her parents flew out to the Big Apple to keep an eye on her and ensure she was doing alright. They even tried to convince her to drop out of the show because they wanted her to improve her overall health.
Although the musical version of "Mean Girls" shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and would never make a comeback, Rapp still had to overcome her eating disorder while also booking new gigs and working on her musical projects,
"Eating disorders don’t just go away and like, you’re healed, like: ‘Sorry, I can eat again, ha ha!’ It’s a lifelong thing. There are battles with addiction and whatever everywhere...
I still struggle with it, but at least my parents know that I’ve been taken out of environments that were really harmful to my sickness, which is awesome and a huge win."
Rapp is now more comfortable speaking up about her personal story as she continues to embark on the road towards healing.