Reneé Rapp has now responded to Betty Who bringing her name into a pop culture discourse about lesbians who fall in love with men, which was sparked in recent months by personal news from JoJo Siwa and Fletcher (the latter who always identified as queer). Rapp's reaction? "Don't bring my big fucking lesbian name into your mouth and into this drama."
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When asked about Who's remarks about her sexuality, Rapp — as the latest Cosmopolitan UK digital cover star — explained, "I mean, it's just very similar to the whole, 'She hasn't found the right man.' It's incredibly similar, let's be so clear. I'm just like, 'What the fuck? What makes you think I'm gonna end up with a man?' Also, how about don't talk about me when it comes to a man? I'm very publicly in a very loving relationship with a woman. So I'm not really sure what about that is so blurry."
She added, "I completely understand that identifying yourself can be really difficult. There is so much pressure when it comes to labelling yourself, but I think that pressure often comes from you. Like, no one ever had a gun to my head and was like, 'Tell me what you are, right the fuck now.' I had a gun to my own head and I was like, 'Tell me what you are, right the fuck now,' because I was trying to figure it out."
Rapp concluded, "I'm always confused whenever people try to do that to other people. Just focus on yourself. Just literally focus on yourself. Don't bring my big fucking lesbian name into your mouth and into this drama."
Reneé Rapp as the Cosmopolitan UK digital cover star.
Liana Ahdout / Cosmopolitan UK
In August, Who commented on queer celebrities like Siwa and Fletcher falling in love with men. While the "Somebody Loves You" singer, who is bisexual and married to a man, expressed compassion for her fellow queer musicians, she didn't stop there.
"I think a huge theme of this entire conversation for both of us has been to allow ourselves to make the choices that feel right in the moment that they feel right," Who said in an interview from August on the Made It Out podcast, referring to Siwa. "Because a huge part of queerness is, like, identifying yourself and putting yourself under, like, you know, 'the alphabet mafia.' It's like, 'Which one are you?! And if you change that, I will never forget it!'
"It's funny that Reneé Rapp is like, 'You'll never catch me dating a man.' It's like, 'Go off, queen. I love that for you.' But I also hold space for her in 10 years if she goes, 'Oops, I met the love of my life, and it's this man. I didn't mean to,'" she added. "Like, that's OK, you know? It shouldn't be illegal for you to fall in love."
The full digital cover interview with Reneé Rapp can be read on Cosmopolitan UK.
