Reneé Rapp’s Bite Me tour has been taking the internet by storm, whether it’s because people are losing their minds about her insane vocals (valid), roasting her outfits (less valid, but to each their own), or getting hype for the special guests that pop up at her shows. And this weekend was no exception.
Now, for the uninitiated, Reneé Rapp has a song on her new album called “At Least I’m Hot,” during which her real-life girlfriend Towa Bird has an exchange with her where she asks how Reneé is doing, Reneé says she’s been “doing real bad,” Towa says “Damn, but you look so fit,” and Reneé Rapp responds, “well I can guarantee that.” On tour, Reneé Rapp usually has a fan do Towa’s part, though occasionally she’s called upon her famous friends (including, sometimes, Towa herself.)
This weekend, however, Reneé Rapp blessed her fans that were born in and before “the 1990s” by calling on a true queer icon to do this part: Jennifer Beals. And it feels worth noting that, perhaps because she’s not British, she was putting her own spin on it, but Jennifer Beals said, “But you look so sexy” instead of fit. Whether it was the change in words or just the sheer fact that THE Bette Porter was smouldering at her, Reneé practically squealed her next line out, which is extremely relatable. Jennifer Beals then proceeded to flashdance to the song and looked like she was having a great time.
To top things off, these two icons of queer media also did a lip sync to the song for a behind-the-scenes, more HD TikTok video, and Jennifer Beals came to PLAY, being extremely flirty with the camera. She knows what she’s doing!!
@reneerapp i’m actually way better now @JenniferBeals
Bite Into More Queer News
+ Queer actor Jenna Kanell (they/she) will lead the all-female cast of the upcoming horror movie The Hatchery
+ Charli XCX is once again dueting about liking girls with a queer pop star, last time it was Billie Eilish, this time it’s Lorde
+ The TV show Tracker has quietly released its last lesbian into the wild, so while the show started with two lesbians, it now has zero lesbians, the second one supposedly off trying to save her marriage with the first, who disappeared with a similar throwaway line two seasons ago
+ Trixie Mattel rejoins Jimmy Kimmel Live with her Drag Queen Storytime segment with the specific goal of roasting Eric Trump’s book
+ Krysten Ritter and Kiernan Shipka are starring as lovers being gay and doing crime in crime thriller Stone Cold Fox
+ Another week, another queer woman lost on Grey’s Anatomy — this time not to a tragic freak accident, but Amelia will be going on sabbatical until 2026
+ Is…is Drew Barrymore okay? Because she’s now smelling feet on her talk show… Also all three of the people in this clip might have COVID because there’s no way NONE of their feet smell right out of the shoe, at least like leather or something
+ Season 2 of the hilarious and dark TV show Obituary has dropped, and I just needed you to know that Máiréad Tyers’ character rocked up in the most bisexual outfit I’ve ever seen and said “I know I read as straight but I’m bisexual” and it made me giggle. (Also she keeps telling the main character she doesn’t know if she wants to fire or fuck her and you know my vote!!)
+ Sabrina Carpenter is donating some of her tour profits to the Transgender Law Center, other allies pay attention
+ Angelina Jolie showed off her back tattoos on the red carpet for her upcoming film Couture
+ And if you’re looking for something to watch this week, here are some lesser-known lesbian shows for you to check out
I might be missing something here, but is Girl, so confusing actually about liking girls? I thought it was just about the ways in which the music-and-media industry creates all these pressures on women that can taint the way they relate to each other, creating a sense of competition and comparison that neither of them wanted.
Has Lorde also described herself as queer anywhere? She describes herself as having an expansive and changing relationship with her sense of gender, and Man of the Year is explicitly about this, but I’ve not seen her describe herself as queer or trans or LGBTQ+ or any similar language – personally I never feel super comfortable assigning labels to people who’ve expressed reluctance to use specific language for themselves. The best example I can think of is when Chappell Roan asks Lorde about gender – “She was like, ‘So, are you nonbinary now?’ And I was like, ‘I’m a woman except for the days when I’m a man.’ I know that’s not a very satisfying answer, but there’s a part of me that is really resistant to boxing it up.”
On both of these points, it might be that I’ve missed something – I’m happy to be corrected.
OK I just read my comment back and have realized it could be read like I am wary of Lorde and Charli being covered here and like I’m challenging whether Lorde is “queer enough” so I just thought I’d clarify really quickly – I am a big fan of both and love seeing their recent work covered by AS, especially in light of Lorde’s recent discussion of gender.
My comments were solely intended to 1) question if I’ve been missing something in Girl, so confusing this whole time, and 2) double check the language used to describe Lorde when she hasn’t used those terms to describe herself and has expressed reluctance to ascribe specific language to what gender means for her – it’s not meant to dismiss her inclusion in AS coverage on the basis of being “not queer enough”, it’s just a query about the language used. Really sorry if anyone reads my initial comment this way because it’s absolutely not my intention, I’m just a literal minded autistic person who sometimes forgets that questions can have unintended implications.
As far as I know Girl, so confusing isn’t about like girls, no. Unless I’m missing something also, it seems like a mistake on the part of AS.
I also don’t think Lorde has referred to herself as queer, but I’m not 100%
Okay that’s my bad because I looked up the lyrics and apparently there was a version that had a verse that went “I think we’re totally different, but opposites do attract, maybe we’re so meant to be, just you and me” on soundcloud but that’s not the final version.
As for referring to Lorde as queer, I was using it as an umbrella term because if she’s “in the middle gender-wise” (a quote from her), she is on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, and since she HASN’T used specific words to describe herself, I used “queer” as a broad term. The reasons you listed are why I didn’t call her nonbinary or trans or anything more specific than the general LGBTQ+ness that “queer” encompasses.
Thank you for these explanations! The different soundcloud version was one I had no clue about, that’s such a fun fact!
I think the second point is one where it seems like I’m gonna agree to differ with the AS editorial approach – personally because queer is a reclaimed slur (one I happily use for myself, and that I think has a lot of utility and importance on a community level), I don’t feel comfortable using it for other people unless they’ve used it for themselves first.
Ah, Jennifer Beals…now SHE is sexy. Old enough to be my Mom or a baby Grandmom, but her and Kate Winslet have been my longest crushes.
Unrelated, but HBO’s new comedy series The Chair Company turns out to have some lesbian content. It’s mostly focused on Tim Robinson being cringey as he attempts to unearth a bizarrely convoluted conspiracy involving the company that makes his office chairs, but one of the subplots involve his character’s daughter marrying her female fiancee and the associated wedding planning.