On her press tour for the new adaptation of “Mean Girls,” Reneé Rapp called out the owner of a bus tour company by name, described herself as an “ageist” against millennial women, and praised Megan’s butt. Thee Stallion and used an interview as an opportunity to photograph her with Rachel McAdams, the original Regina George, whose shoes Ms. Rapp filled for her latest role. She also said that she might not want Ms. McAdams to see the new version of the character and suggested that she was tired of the franchise.
“I'm tired of wearing pink,” Rapp told an interviewer. “I've had it, I'm good at it. “I don't want to do it anymore.”
“She doesn't stay within the safe boundaries of what's okay to say, and that's why her fans identify with her and gravitate toward her; it's very refreshing,” said Bill McGowan, founder and CEO of Clarity Media. Group, who held the Kardashians' first media training session. “I mean, think about it: Somehow, unhinged has become the new authentic.”
In today's celebrity world, anarchy and “unhinged” personalities reign. Ms. Rapp is carving out her stardom in the mold of Julia Fox or even the disgraced politician George Santos, both of whom seem acutely aware of their own presentation as well as deliberately chaotic, treating press appearances as opportunities to go off script. . The more impressive, the better.
It's a departure from what fans expect from their favorite stars, many of whom have been trained to delicately dodge difficult questions and stick to positive messages about their films and projects. In a meta move, Ms. Rapp appeared in an “SNL” sketch last week that included a joke about her sentencing to “40 hours of court-ordered media training.”
But among her supporters, “keep Reneé Rapp out of media training” has become a common refrain. So-called media training was once an industry secret. “23 years ago, we were the ones whispering on the sidelines, telling the stars what to say,” McGowan said. Today, however, an increasingly media-literate generation may see it as antagonistic to star power, dulling a celebrity's personality.
Now, stars who seem fundamentally untrained, who bend the norms of press appearances and leave their interviewers and co-stars shocked, as Rapp has done, can reap their own kinds of rewards, experts say: virality in Internet, or an 'it girl' moment.
Nya Étienne, 22, a digital strategist and journalist, said Rapp's speech may particularly appeal to members of Generation Z, who have come to form deeper bonds with celebrities in an increasingly atomized world.
“These are people who spend hours online poring over clips of celebrities, and when they see them acting like 'real people,' they feel a little less alone,” she said, adding: “These online communities thrive on cultural moments.” shared and understandings.”
Still, some argue that even this “the stars are like us” relationship can be manufactured, especially through an evolving media training school.
“Back then, it was about taking three key messages, grinding them into a kind of mushy, indistinguishable pulp that no one could remember,” McGowan said. He said media training had changed his approach, preaching memorability over confident messages. “Media training should be about creating memorable, provocative, interesting things to say and stories to tell,” he said.
Before this practice transformed the industry, stars like Parker Posey and Norm McDonald were early pioneers of a certain unpredictable interview style, drawing audiences to laughter with their off-the-wall anecdotes and casual disregard for the interview format. In the 2010s, it was a style of media performance that became closely associated with white women of the millennial generation such as Lena Dunham and Jennifer Lawrence, who gained a reputation for being quirky and unconventional (although it sometimes backfired).
“The idea of receiving media training is existentially repulsive to me,” Dunam told singer Lorde in an interview with Dazed in 2015. “I'd rather step in my own vomit 800 times, track it all over the world and walk into it.” problems than sitting in an office and having someone explain to me how I'm supposed to talk about things.”
Glenn Kinsey, a media coach with 33 years of experience, said that while he has always encouraged authenticity in his practice, it is a training style that has recently become popular with celebrities.
“Certainly in the last few years, this has blown up a lot, because my thing is to get them to be themselves and look like they haven't had any training,” he said. “Ultimately, the rawer, the more real, the more imperfect – in many ways, the better.”
One can only imagine the carnage that will ensue if Ms. Rapp undergoes the 40 hours of court-ordered media training.
