Reneé Rapp is a proud member of the LGBTQ community.
The Mean Girls star reflected on her coming out journey at the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on March 14.
"Living as my authentic self and as an out queer artist and a lesbian most recently is the most rewarding, validating, scary and exciting experience I've ever had," she said on the stage before honoring GLAAD's President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. "The creatives in the room know that we couldn't do it without GLAAD. Thank you, GLAAD for helping the world see us as we are. It means a lot."
Reneé was also honored that evening—winning the Outstanding Music Artist award—and was among the many star-studded attendees. Oprah Winfrey received the Vanguard Award, and Niecy Nash-Betts took home the Stephen F. Kolzak Award. Other celebrity guests included Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Sydney Sweeney, Chrishell Stause, G Flip, Kate Hudson, Billie Joe Armstrong and Sharon Stone.
Reneé has opened up about what it was like for her to come out publicly before.
"To be honest, the first time that I ever publicly talked about being gay was in 2020," the singer said on a February episode of TikToker Jake Shane's podcast Therapuss, "and I'd been out for six years at that point, whether it be publicly or not. I remember because I remember it being like a thing."
Reneé previously came out as bisexual but has recently shared she now identifies as a lesbian. And she's expressed how much it means to her that she's been able to help others come out, too—such as by having them relate to her character Leighton Murray on The Sex Lives of College Girls.
"It is the coolest thing ever because I've only recently started referring to myself as a lesbian, and I've only recently been in a relationship where I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm a lesbian for sure,'" Reneé told The Hollywood Reporter last month. "I never consumed any piece of queer media up until maybe three months ago. I'm watching The L Word for the first time, and I just watched But I'm a Cheerleader, and I'm watching all these movies and parts of gay culture, specifically lesbian culture, and I'm like, 'I love this.'"
"It's also been the most rewarding, validating, scary and exciting experience ever," the singer added. "So to imagine that that could be like that for somebody else, that makes me love acting."