Reneé Rapp has responded after Australian singer Betty Who speculated about Rapp’s sexuality.
In an interview with Cosmopolitan published Sept. 5, Rapp said she is publicly in a “very loving relationship with a woman” and isn’t surprised by comments questioning her identity as a lesbian. The comments come after Who, whose real name is Jessica Newham, said in a podcast that Rapp may one day meet a man who changes her mind and becomes the love of her life.
Rapp said she has come to expect similar comments.
“No, I’m never surprised. People are always going for lesbians! Somebody’s gonna bring my name into the conversation if they want to be in the conversation. So no, it doesn’t surprise me at all,” Rapp said without directly mentioning Who’s name.
The 25-year-old actor and musician said people are consistently dismissing her lesbian identity by suggesting she simply “hasn’t found the right man.”
Who apologized on her Instagram Story on Aug. 28, writing that she recognized the language she used unintentionally “reinforced ideas that were harmful or dismissive, particularly toward the lesbian community.”
“That was never my intention, and I’m truly sorry. Everyone’s journey is deeply personal, and I shouldn’t have spoken in ways that generalized or spoke for others,” she wrote. “I understand there is so much nuance in this conversation, and in other people’s lived experiences, that my comments did not reflect. I also recognize that I’m coming from a place of privilege, and I never meant to contribute to prejudice against the community.”
Rapp didn’t reference the apology in her comments.
“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?” she said. “I’m not really sure what about that is so blurry. I mean, 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.”
She added many people pressure others to label themselves immediately and urged these people to “just literally focus on yourself.”
What did Betty Who say about Reneé Rapp?
In an Aug. 19 episode of the “Made It Out” podcast, Who mentioned Rapp when making a point about how sexual orientation and romance aren’t always clear cut.
Who and podcast host Mal Glowenke were discussing how biphobia has prompted scrutiny toward queer celebrities like 22-year-old JoJo Siwa, who came under fire amid her romantic relationship with “Love Island” alum Chris Hughes after previously publicly identifying as a lesbian.
The singer defended Siwa and recounted her own experiences as a bisexual woman falling in love with a man after previously dismissing the idea. She then proceeded to mention Rapp, who has publicly denied being bisexual herself.
“It’s funny that Reneé Rapp is like ‘you’ll never catch me dating a man.’ 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,’” Newham said. “That’s okay. It shouldn’t be illegal for you to fall in love.”
(This story has been updated to correct a misspelling/typo.)