Renée Rapp will no longer appear as a series regular on The Sex Lives of College Girls, a source close to production tells outlet.
Though fans may be disappointed with the news, the 23-year-old actress will still appear as Leighton Murray in a handful of episodes on a recurring basis. A rep for Rapp has not returned outlet's request for comment.
Amid the shakeup, the "Too Well" singer shared a statement on Twitter, telling fans that taking on the role of Leighton had "changed my life."
🧡💗🤍 pic.twitter.com/SWnR0CNsp3
— RMJ (@reneerapp) July 10, 2023
"College girls moved me out to LA and introduced me to some of my favorite people. 2 and a half years later – it's given me y’all and this community," she wrote before extending gratitude to the show's creators. “Thank u Mindy [Kaling], Justin [Noble] and everyone at Max for believing in me.”
She added, "A lot of queer work gets belittled – but playing Leighton has changed my life. I love who I am 10x more than I did before knowing her. I hope she gave y’all a little bit of that too."
Though she claimed that television has a long way to go, Rapp acknowledged that the "tiny part of representation" she gave to viewers as a queer character still counted.
“I wouldn't be half the person I am without her and y'all," the "Snow Angel" singer concluded. "I love that bitch more than you know. I'm so excited for this season and I can't wait for you to see what we have coming for her and the girls."
Rapp played Leighton Murray, a wealthy student who explored and came to terms with her sexuality as a queer individual on campus, in the show's first two seasons. Alongside her suitemates and unexpected friends, played by Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur and Alyah Chanelle Scott, the group entered their first year of higher education at Essex College.
In December 2022, Rapp opened up to outlet about how her experiences playing an openly lesbian character felt "weird" at times as a bisexual woman, herself.
"I don't think I ever really dealt with those emotions as outwardly as Leighton did," she said, revealing that separating her own experiences from her character's had been challenging. "I kind of… Just let s--- go, in a bad way."
Aside from her recurring role on The Sex Lives of College Girls, the actress will continue to pursue her successful music career and will kick off her "Snow Hard Feelings" tour in September.
The "In the Kitchen" artist will also reprise her role as Regina George in Paramount's upcoming Mean Girls The Musical movie alongside Angourie Rice, Jaquel Spivey and Auli'i Cravalho after previously starring in the Broadway adaptation.
The first two seasons of The Sex Lives of College Girls are now streaming on Max.
