Singer Janis Ian reveals how she really feels about ‘Mean Girls’ character homage

Janis Ian.

Janis Ian has mixed feelings about Tina Fey naming a “Mean Girls” character after her. Getty Images

That’s so not fetch.

Singer Janis Ian admitted to having mixed feelings about Tina Fey naming a “Mean Girls” character after her.

“I would’ve felt better about it [had she] asked me first,” the performer, 73, told Page Six in an exclusive interview while promoting her documentary, “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence.”

“But I think it was well-intended.”

Lizzy Caplan in

Lizzy Caplan’s character in “Mean Girls” is named Janis Ian. ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

Tina Fey.

Ian told Page Six that she spoke with writer Tina Fey about the name usage. ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

In the 2004 comedy written by Fey, Lizzy Caplan plays Janis Ian, who, along with her best friend Damian Leigh (Daniel Franzese), gets revenge on her former best friend Regina George (Rachel McAdams) by enlisting the use of a new girl, Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan).

The real-life Ian further told us that she was forced to confront the “Saturday Night Live” alum, 54, following the release of the movie but couldn’t go into detail about their conversation.

“I can’t get into that except to say that there was some unauthorized merchandising,” she explained. “And so we spoke about that and they withdrew it.”

A publicist for Fey did not reply to Page Six for comment.

Lindsay Lohan, Lizzy Caplan in

Ian told Page Six she doesn’t believe Fey meant any harm. ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

Janis Ian.

The “At Seventeen” singer is the subject of a new documentary. NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Fey — who has spoken in the past about her nerdy teenage years — was seemingly inspired to name a “Mean Girls” character after the singer-songwriter following the release of the latter’s 1975 sad girl anthem “At Seventeen.”

The song about feeling like a social outcast sold over a million copies when it was released and won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1976.

“I thought I was the only person in the world who ever felt like that,” Ian explained to us. “It would never have occurred to me that other people felt like that. You don’t want anybody to know that you feel ugly or that you feel horrible about yourself.

“I think one of the great things that ‘Seventeen’ does is it allows people to feel like there’s somebody else who understands and who got through it and who can express their feelings for them.”

Janis Ian as a teen.

The singer-songwriter first became famous as a teen. George Schowerer, . Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.

Janis Ian.

The documentary also explores her sexuality and how she was outed by the Village Voice. Peter Cunningham. Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.

Ian’s upcoming documentary — which is out March 28 — also explores how she was deliberately outed as a lesbian by New York City newspaper the Village Voice in the 70s.

Luckily, no other outlets picked up the story because the consequences would have been punishing.

“I would have lost my ability to perform,” Ian told us. “Nobody would have hired me. I would have lost my record contract. It would have destroyed my career.”

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Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sciaky, Billy Joel and Janis Ian.

Ian, seen here with Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, didn’t come out to her fans because she knew it would destroy her career. Peter Cunningham., Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment

Janis Ian.

She publicly came out in 1993, after meeting her wife, Patricia Snyder. Getty Images

Although Ian had always been out to friends and family, she said it was a private issue and “didn’t want my music to be ‘Janis Ian: Lesbian singer-songwriter.’” However, she changed her tune when she met her wife, Patricia Snyder.

“Times had changed,” she noted. “And I realized that this was forever and that I really needed to be public about it and clear about it.”

Ian met her wife when she moved to Nashville in 1989 after losing all her money due to a shady money manager.

She estimates that she lost $2.3 million, five properties in Los Angeles and a duplex overlooking Central Park in New York City.

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Janis Ian.

The Grammy winner also reveals that she lost millions to a shady business manager. Peter Cunningham. Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment

Janis Ian.

Ian noted that she would have neverr met her wife if it hadn’t happened. WireImage

“Nowadays, it’d be closer to $20 million,” the Grammy winner surmised. However, she refuses to remain bitter.

“If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have had to move to Nashville and I wouldn’t have met Pat,” she emphasized.

“And I wouldn’t be sitting here 36 years later and still be with her. So, you gotta look at it that way. Because otherwise, you make yourself crazy.”

Ian ended up coming out publicly in 1993, and a decade later, she and Snyder tied the knot in Toronto, Canada.

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