Reneé Rapp is very happy with her decision to come out as a lesbian on Saturday Night Live. The "Bite Me" singer recalled how it all came to be during her Tuesday appearance on the Good Hang With Amy Poehler podcast. Rapp, who was a musical guest for the January episode hosted by Jacob Elordi, explained that the decision was inspired by a sketch written by SNL writer Celeste Yim.
The Saltburn actor and Bowen Yang played professional lip readers who fill in the blanks and pick up on the subtle body language of celebrities at events like the Golden Globes. Rapp made an appearance as their "little lesbian intern" who has had community service because she has been "going off" in interviews. Originally, Rapp was to be introduced as the "little bisexual intern" as a nod to her "publicly bisexual" identity.
But the singer asked if the skit line could be changed after a conversation with her girlfriend, Towa Bird. "In private, I was talking with my girlfriend and a lot of my friends for the last maybe eight months before that, of being like, 'I actually don't really feel very, like, bi at the moment. I feel very much like a lesbian' and it feels so nice," she explained to Poehler.
"That word feels amazing, and it feels very euphoric for me." Rapp added that she made the decision because, "labeling yourself publicly is really, really, really empowering and also I think can be kind of intimidating." "You're like, 'Jesus f‑‑‑ing Christ, this feels so good for me right now and I don't want to go by something that doesn't feel correct,'" the Mean Girls star said.
"But I'm also going to, like, give myself the willingness to be like, what if in 10 years I don't like that identity either? What if in 10 years, I'm completely different in terms of my identity and sexuality or like my gender expression?" She recalled that Yim was enthusiastic about making the change.
"To come out as a lesbian on SNL is, like, pretty c‑‑ty. I was like, I'm going to do it for sure," Rapp quipped. Jacob Elordi, Reneé Rapp, and Bowen Yang on 'Saturday Night Live' on January 20, 2024.
Will Heath/NBC via Getty Although the Sex Lives of College Girls star admitted she had been wary of disappointing "a lot of people" who connected with her previous bisexual identity, she asserted that it was important that she felt at peace with her decision herself. "I think also, just like being from somewhere incredibly rural — it's like f‑‑‑ing MAGA-town where I grew up at, and it always has been," she shared, adding that her hometown could be better or 10 times worse now. "It was really interesting because I think a lot of the people who I grew up around who are incredibly homophobic, are very supportive of me now that I am a public person.
Because I think the idea of fame and wealth can sometimes trump hate if it's close in proximity, which is really f‑‑‑ing frustrating." To drown out the noise, Rapp admitted that she chose not to check online reactions after the episode aired, and instead focused on her "gaggle of lesbians." "I love being a lesbian and I love the lesbian community so much and I love like the community surrounding lesbians that, like, really f‑‑‑ with us," she gushed.
Rapp has been making her rounds as she gears up for the release of her new album, Bite Me. The singer's sophomore project is slated to drop on Aug. 25. Watch Rapp's appearance on the Good Hang With Amy Poehler podcast above.
