Renée Rapp opens up about body-shaming while working on Mean Girls

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Renée Rapp opened up about her Mean Girls experience and being the subject of bullying from others on the set. The interview was published on Wednesday, August 23.

Rapp moved to NYC at just 19 years of age for the show and portrayed the role of Regina George in Broadway’s Mean Girls. The actor shared in the interview that she was suffering from an eating disorder at that time.

Without mentioning the names, Renée Rapp said:

“[They] would say some vile f*cking things to me about my body.”

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What did Renée Rapp say about her eating disorder?

During the interview, she addressed her eating disorder as a “lifelong thing” and said:

"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."

Renée Rapp shared how her parents were concerned about her mental health, and they even flew to New York at one point to make her quit the show.

She further added:

“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.”

Renée Rapp concentrated on her acting and music after Mean Girls came to an end in March 2020. Although Rapp's health has improved, she stated in the interview that her parents are "more worried than they ever have been because they know more now."

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What is meant by an eating disorder?

An eating disorder is a type of mental health problem (Image via Unsplash/Szabo Viktor)

An eating disorder is a severe mental health problem characterized by erratic eating patterns and an obsession with food, body image, and weight. In addition to engaging in excessive behaviors linked to food and weight control, people with eating disorders frequently have erroneous ideas of their own bodies. There may be serious physical, emotional, and social repercussions from these diseases.

There are different types of eating disorders:

Anorexia nervosa- In this, people restrict eating to an extreme level, which frequently leads to very low body weight.

Bulimia nervosa- This one is the opposite of anorexia nervosa as the person starts binge eating in a short span of time.

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)- People with ARFID avoid a certain group of foods, which may result in nutritional deficiency.

Binge Eating Disorder (BED)- This is similar to bulimia nervosa, but people eat without any control and may often encounter obesity and other related health problems.

Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED)- It includes eating behaviors that do not fit in other categories.

The quality of a person's life as a whole, as well as their physical and mental health, can be significantly impacted by eating disorders. They frequently need a multifaceted strategy for treatment that combines medical, dietary, and psychological approaches. Increased support and early intervention may increase the likelihood of recovery.