Reneé Rapp wants to open a queer bar in L.A.: ‘A real goal of mine’

Reneé Rapp is a Broadway star, bisexual pop sensation, and now full-blown movie star, but she still has major goals she wants to pursue – including opening a queer bar.

The “Pretty Girls” singer is currently soaking up all of the love and praise in response to her performance as Regina George in the new Mean Girls movie musical – and making headlines almost every other day with her iconic press tour moments.

And, although she’s planning to get some well-deserved R&R after a whirlwind year, fans certainly haven’t seen the last of Rapp. Worst case scenario, if you hang around Los Angeles for long enough, you’re bound to bump into her.

In a new interview with Vogue, Rapp shared that a long-term goal of hers is to open a queer bar in the Californian city.

Originally from North Carolina, Rapp told the magazine that she holds a special place in her heart for Los Angeles and the life she has been able to build there.

“I’ve never had so many gay girlfriends in my life. Like, my entire group is lesbians, nonbinary, and trans people, and it feels really, really nice,” she said.

Discussing all of the options that are available to her and the rest of the queer community in L.A., Rapp revealed: “I really want to open a queer bar in L.A.”

“I’ve found so much comfort in queer spaces over the last few years that that’s a real goal of mine.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Rapp was asked about the pressure that fans can sometimes put on LGBTQ+ celebrities to perfectly represent their respective identities.

While the “Poison Poison” singer is always grateful for the spotlight her fans give her, she says: “The only times I don’t appreciate it are when I feel like people need something from me, specifically, in my personal life. 

“I do get how exciting it is to have someone you like – or hate, or feel any type of way about – be queer in the public eye, but I’ve had people say some crazy s**t. I’ve had comments saying, like, ‘Oh my God, you’re never going to stop coming out already,’ and in a way, I did sign up for this, but I also think I’m entitled to a little bit of anonymity.”

Rapp has previously opened up about the difficulties she faced when struggling with her sexual identity.

While filming season one of HBO series Sex Lives of College Girls, Rapp says she lived in a “constant panic” because she was “freaked out” by the idea of her sexuality “not being finite.”

Speaking to the Call Her Daddy podcast, she recalled: “I’m doing these scenes and also having gay men come up to me and be like ‘Are you really gay?’

“It really f**king p***ed me off and made me just second guess everything about myself. I was beating myself up so much. It was so crazy.”

But these days, Rapp is far more comfortable in her sexuality – so much so that she took Regina George with her

In an interview with Them, Rapp said that Regina George being a lesbian had always been her “interpretation” of the iconic character.

“It might not be other people’s, and I truly don’t care. It’s mine, and that’s how I feel.”