{"id":841621,"date":"2025-04-17T16:12:31","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T21:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/singer-janis-ian-reveals-how-she-really-feels-about-mean-girls-character-homage\/"},"modified":"2025-04-17T16:12:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T21:12:31","slug":"singer-janis-ian-reveals-how-she-really-feels-about-mean-girls-character-homage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/singer-janis-ian-reveals-how-she-really-feels-about-mean-girls-character-homage\/","title":{"rendered":"Singer Janis Ian reveals how she really feels about \u2018Mean Girls\u2019 character homage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Janis<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

Janis Ian has mixed feelings about Tina Fey naming a \u201cMean Girls\u201d character after her. Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That\u2019s so not fetch.<\/p>\n

Singer Janis Ian admitted to having mixed feelings about Tina Fey naming a \u201cMean Girls\u201d character after her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would\u2019ve felt better about it [had she] asked me first,\u201d the performer, 73, told Page Six in an exclusive interview while promoting her documentary, \u201cJanis Ian: Breaking Silence<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think it was well-intended.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Lizzy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

Lizzy Caplan\u2019s character in \u201cMean Girls\u201d is named Janis Ian. \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Tina<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

Ian told Page Six that she spoke with writer Tina Fey about the name usage. \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the 2004 comedy<\/a> written by Fey, Lizzy Caplan plays<\/a> 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).<\/p>\n

The real-life Ian further told us that she was forced to confront the \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d alum, 54, following the release of the movie but couldn\u2019t go into detail about their conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t get into that except to say that there was some unauthorized merchandising,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd so we spoke about that and they withdrew it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A publicist for Fey did not reply to Page Six for comment.<\/p>\n

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\"Lindsay<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

Ian told Page Six she doesn\u2019t believe Fey meant any harm. \u00a9Paramount\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Janis<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

The \u201cAt Seventeen\u201d singer is the subject of a new documentary. NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fey \u2014 who has spoken in the past about her nerdy teenage years \u2014 was seemingly inspired to name a \u201cMean Girls\u201d character after the singer-songwriter following the release of the latter\u2019s 1975 sad girl anthem \u201cAt Seventeen.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I was the only person in the world who ever felt like that,\u201d Ian explained to us. \u201cIt would never have occurred to me that other people felt like that. You don\u2019t want anybody to know that you feel ugly or that you feel horrible about yourself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of the great things that \u2018Seventeen\u2019 does is it allows people to feel like there\u2019s somebody else who understands and who got through it and who can express their feelings for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Janis<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

The singer-songwriter first became famous as a teen. George Schowerer, . Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Janis<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

The documentary also explores her sexuality and how she was outed by the Village Voice. Peter Cunningham. Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ian\u2019s upcoming documentary \u2014 which is out March 28 \u2014 also explores how she was deliberately outed as a lesbian by New York City newspaper the Village Voice in the 70s.<\/p>\n

Luckily, no other outlets picked up the story because the consequences would have been punishing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have lost my ability to perform,\u201d Ian told us. \u201cNobody would have hired me. I would have lost my record contract. It would have destroyed my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"Bruce<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

Ian, seen here with Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, didn\u2019t come out to her fans because she knew it would destroy her career. Peter Cunningham., Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Janis<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

She publicly came out in 1993, after meeting her wife, Patricia Snyder. Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although Ian had always been out to friends and family, she said it was a private issue and \u201cdidn\u2019t want my music to be \u2018Janis Ian: Lesbian singer-songwriter.’\u201d However, she changed her tune when she met her wife, Patricia Snyder.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cTimes had changed,\u201d she noted. \u201cAnd I realized that this was forever and that I really needed to be public about it and clear about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian met her wife when she moved to Nashville in 1989 after losing all her money due to a shady money manager.<\/p>\n

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

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\"Janis<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

The Grammy winner also reveals that she lost millions to a shady business manager. Peter Cunningham. Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Janis<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

Ian noted that she would have neverr met her wife if it hadn\u2019t happened. WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cNowadays, it\u2019d be closer to $20 million,\u201d the Grammy winner surmised. However, she refuses to remain bitter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that hadn\u2019t happened, I wouldn\u2019t have had to move to Nashville and I wouldn\u2019t have met Pat,\u201d she emphasized. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I wouldn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ian ended up coming out publicly in 1993, and a decade later, she and Snyder tied the knot in Toronto, Canada.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Nicki Gostin
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Janis Ian has mixed feelings about Tina Fey naming a \u201cMean Girls\u201d character after her. Getty Images That\u2019s so not fetch. Singer Janis Ian admitted to having mixed feelings about Tina Fey naming a \u201cMean Girls\u201d character after her. \u201cI would\u2019ve felt better about it [had she] asked me first,\u201d the performer, 73, told Page<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":841622,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135187,906],"tags":[143260,11130],"class_list":{"0":"post-841621","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-janis","8":"category-singer","9":"tag-janis","10":"tag-singer"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}