Why Is Renee Rapp Leaving ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’? Everything She’s Said About Her Exit

Reneé Rapp only has a recurring domiciled successful play 3 of The Sex Lives of College Girls aft announcing her departure from nan bid successful 2023. Fans are funny to cognize astir why her characteristic Leighton will nary longer beryllium successful nan show.

Why Is Renee Rapp Leaving ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’?

Reneé – who plays Leighton Murray connected one – is leaving nan bid to “pursue her solo euphony profession amid rumors that definite formed members had questioned her bisexuality,” according to Vanity Fair, who said pinch nan character successful January 2024.

“The group successful my life that I activity pinch now attraction astir maine arsenic a person,” Reneé told nan outlet. “And I deliberation that is simply a quality from things I’ve knowledgeable successful nan past.”

Reneé’s exit from nan bid was announced successful July 2023. After nan news broke, she took to societal media to reside her departure. “College Girls moved maine retired to LA and introduced maine to immoderate of my favourite people,” nan Mean Girls prima said. “2 and a half years later – it’s fixed maine y’all and this community. Thank u Mindy [Kaling] and Justin [Noble] and everyone astatine Max for believing successful me. A batch of queer activity gets belittled – but playing Leighton has changed my life. I emotion who I americium 10x much than I did earlier knowing her.”

She continued, “I dream she gave y’all a small spot of that too. She’s specified a mini portion of practice but moreover nan mini parts count. I wouldn’t beryllium half nan personification I americium without her and y’all. I emotion that bitch much than you know. I’m truthful excited for this play and I can’t hold for you to spot what we person coming for her and nan girls.”

Later that summer, Reneé explained why she wasn’t expanding further connected her reasons for leaving nan show. “I decidedly person feelings astir it and what that intends for nan show and maine and my music,” she told People. “But I can’t really remark connected thing conscionable owed to nan SAG and nan WGA strike. It prohibits maine from talking astir it. But I person a batch of feelings astir it.”

The “Too Well” vocalist has ever been adamant that euphony is her No. 1 priority. “[I thought], ‘I tin do euphony connected nan side, like, I tin conscionable hustle,” she told Variety successful 2022. “And now I’ve conscionable kept acting [but] because it keeps supporting nan music. Acting was my measurement into tricking everyone that I warranted attention, truthful that I could person this question and reply pinch you.”

In August 2023, conscionable weeks aft her SLOCG departure was announced, she told The Cut, “I ever knew [music] is what I was going to do by immoderate intends necessary. So, like, f–k everything else. I was truthful hopeless to create my ain sound. It took really insane situations.”

However, conscionable six months later, she seemed to person a alteration of heart. “I want to enactment much than ever, which I’m like, ‘Are you f–king kidding?’” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “I conscionable didn’t deliberation that would happen. But now I haven’t acted for a twelvemonth and I miss it. Even shape acting I miss, which is confusing because I conscionable didn’t deliberation that would beryllium nan case. I’m processing things pinch group that I really, really for illustration that I’m excited about.”

Renee Rapp’s Sexuality

While Reneé has played a lesbian characteristic connected SLOCG since 2021, she didn’t travel retired arsenic cheery herself until 2024 aft antecedently publically identifying arsenic bisexual starting successful 2022. While appearing connected nan “Call Her Daddy” podcast successful March 2023, Reneé reflected connected playing a lesbian while being successful a “heteronormative relationship” successful her existent life during filming of play 1.

“It sucked truthful bad,” she admitted. “I hated going to activity because I was like, ‘I don’t deliberation I’m, like, bully capable to beryllium here. I don’t deliberation I tin beryllium here. I don’t deliberation I tin beryllium doing this.’ I was like, ‘Maybe I’m conscionable trying excessively hard.’” She recalled perpetually being “in panic” astatine nan time, adding, “I was truthful freaked retired by nan thought of my sexuality, not being finite aliases group laughing astatine maine aliases maine laughing astatine myself, that I hated [the] first twelvemonth of filming.”

She said astir this again during a 2024 question and reply pinch The Hollywood Reporter while admitting that leaving SLOCG was “hard for truthful galore reasons.” The “Snow Angel” songstress explained, “Recently, connected TikTok, [I watched] this segment successful play 1 wherever I travel retired to different characteristic arsenic a lesbian, and I’m crying, sobbing. And I hadn’t seen that segment successful years. It’s truthful absorbing that, astatine nan time, I wasn’t moreover alert that what I was experiencing successful my ain individual life was really precisely what I was doing connected screen. I was successful a narration pinch a man, incredibly confused, unsure of myself, emotion truthful insecure successful my acting. And I watched nan segment nan different time and I was like, ‘Wow, I consciousness truthful fortunate to person that.’”

She continued, “That’s thing I would show my kids. So erstwhile I watched it back, I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s difficult to time off that.’ And I’m besides truthful grateful that I was capable to person that moment. Not only was it adjuvant to different people, it was crazy for me. Crazy adjuvant and besides crazy hard. Because I’m like, ‘Why americium I freaking retired each nan time?’ I would spell location and I would telephone my friends and I’d beryllium like, ‘I deliberation I’m a lesbian, but I really emotion my boyfriend.’ I would want to beryllium pinch him but I [saw] him much arsenic a friend. So not only was I doing that connected nan show, publicly, successful a large measurement to truthful galore people, and my family, who had nary thought that I was gay, I was besides going done it personally. It is f–king crazy to watch that back.”

Is Leighton successful Season 3 of ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’?

Fans of nan show won’t beryllium near hanging pinch Leighton’s storyline. Reneé is successful play 3 arsenic a recurring characteristic and was heavy featured successful nan first episode, which aired connected November 21, 2024.

However, nan storyline already seems to beryllium mounting up Leighton’s departure from nan fictional Essex College. During nan play 3 premiere, Leighton recovered retired that nan mathematics people she wanted to return was nary longer being offered because nary different students qualified to return it. Her professor suggested a akin people astatine nan University of Vermont, which she would person to recreation by autobus to be a fewer times a week.

After conscionable 1 trip, Leighton already seemed exhausted by nan commute, truthful her professor suggested a transportation to a assemblage that would fresh her world needs better. He suggested nan Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) successful Boston. With Leighton’s girlfriend, Alicia (Midori Francis), already relocating to Boston for a job, nan mathematics master seemed keen connected nan thought of transferring.

“The only measurement that she would time off is if it was for her champion aforesaid moving forward,” cocreator Justin told TVLine. “And nan point that felt absorbing to maine is Leighton starts our show knowing herself nan slightest of our halfway group. She comes successful pretending to beryllium thing she’s not, and complete 22 episodes, we’ve watched her not only fig retired who she is arsenic a person, but ain it truthful confidently.”

Max has not confirmed really galore episodes Reneé will look successful during play 3.