Reneé Rapp, whose debut album “Snow Angel” landed last week, revealed in an interview with The Guardian that her mental health suffered while working on the “Mean Girls” musical in New York City when she was 19.
Rapp also had an eating disorder at the time, which was worsened by people on the production who “would say some vile fucking things to me about my body.”
In addition to her eating disorder, Rapp was also diagnosed with a mood disorder, but she has made strides in managing the eating disorder.
“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,” she said. “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. They worry like hell, but they’re chilling, I guess.”
Before releasing “Snow Angel,” which sounds like a cross between Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish’s work, Rapp starred in Mindy Kaling and Justin Noble’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls” as Leighton, a closeted lesbian whose arc involves coming out to her roommates in the first two seasons. Rapp also discussed her struggle to come out as bisexual.
“My generation and the generation that will follow mine is much more open – especially women, non-men, queer people. I do think I’ve been afforded more opportunities than women before me, men and queer women before me,” she said. “This generation is still super mean to each other. But we are more outspoken – and give less of a fuck.”
Rapp announced her departure from the Max show, which has been renewed for a third season, early in July to fully focus on her music career, and she posted a tribute to her time on the show on social media.
“College girls moved me out to LA and introduced me to some of my favorite people,” she wrote. “A lot of queer work gets belittled— but playing Leighton has changed my life. I love who I am 10x more than I did before knowing her. … She’s such a tiny part of representation but even the tiny parts count.”
