Who is Rosalind Wiseman? Mean Girls author calls out Paramount and Tina Fey over franchise’s compensation

Rosalind Wiseman, whose book Queen Bees and Wannabes inspired the 2004 hit comedy Mean Girls, is taking the legal way after claiming she has not been getting her share of profits from the film's success.

Writer and producer Tina Fey and Paramount allegedly cashed in on Wiseman's work and denied having any payouts for Wiseman. Now, the author is asking for an audit regarding the situation.

She told the New York Post that her lawyers are circling legal action to examine the movie studio's accounting books to determine if Paramount and Fey have been gatekeeping her well-deserved profits for Mean Girls over the years. The author believes she has been kept out of the loop for potential cash flow since the film was released.

Mean Girls was adapted into a Broadway musical. Now, the musical will be turned into a movie, meaning it has done fairly well over the years. Throughout the years, though, Paramount has claimed that they have nothing left for the author whose book inspired the story.

In 2002, Wiseman signed a deal with Paramount and Tina Fey which entitled her to a one-time $400,000 and an acknowledgment for relinquishing any rights to the work and/or derivates. However, she is guaranteed "net profit points," meaning she could make more if the movie does well.

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Rosalind Wiseman wants to audit Paramount and Tina Fey over Mean Girls' profits

Wiseman recently published Courageous Discomfort: How to Have Brave, Life-Changing Conversations About Race and Racism. She has also published Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World; Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends, and the New Rules of Boy World, which was awarded Best Parenting Book by Books for a Better Life.

She also co-founded Cultures of Dignity and created the Owning Up Curriculum. She currently lives in Colorado with her husband and two sons. Wiseman was a native of Washington, D.C. She grew up with two younger siblings and parents, Kathy and Steve Wiseman.

The author told the NY Post:

"We have reached out to Paramount to have things be more equitable, but Paramount is not interested in that. For so long I was so quiet about it, so, so quiet, but I just feel like the hypocrisy is too much."

Rosalind Wiseman is looking to be "compensated in some way for her work that has changed our culture and changed the zeitgeist." Ryan Keech, Wiseman's attorney for the case, said:

"I suspect most people would be shocked at how shabbily Rosalind Wiseman has been treated. And properly so."

He added:

"It is nothing short of shameful for a company with the resources of Paramount to go to the lengths to which it has gone to deny Ms. Wiseman what she is fairly entitled to for having created what has become one of the most iconic entertainment franchises of the last 25 years."

Rosalind Wiseman is looking for an audit, but she and Keech aren't sure how to make Paramount comply with their terms over Mean Girls.

Wiseman added to her monolog by saying that she was clearly "recognized and acknowledged" by Tina Fey as the "source material, the inspiration." Yet, she somehow happens to "deserve nothing."

She also called out her former co-writer, Tina Fey, on the project for being a "hypocrite." She spoke about Tina speaking "so eloquently" about women supporting women. However, it was "increasingly clear" to Rosalind Wiseman through her personal experience that it was "not going to be the experience."

She added:

"You don't just talk about supporting women, you actually do it."

Fey and Paramount have yet to respond to the claims and accusations Rosalind Wiseman has made.