{"id":2132499,"date":"2025-11-03T15:14:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T15:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2132499"},"modified":"2025-11-03T15:14:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T15:14:26","slug":"jonathan-bennett-reveals-why-he-doesnt-want-his-mean-girls-character-to-be-gay-in-the-sequel-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/jonathan-bennett-reveals-why-he-doesnt-want-his-mean-girls-character-to-be-gay-in-the-sequel-exclusive\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonathan Bennett reveals why he doesn&#8217;t want his \u201cMean Girls\u201d character to be gay in the sequel (exclusive)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/jonathan-bennett\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Jonathan Bennett;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Jonathan Bennett<\/a> would never turn down a chance to return to the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/creative-work\/mean-girls\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Mean Girls;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Mean Girls<\/em><\/a> universe \u2014 yes, it&#8217;s a multiverse,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/mean-girls-shared-universe-tina-fey-8425788\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Tina Fey said so;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Tina Fey said so<\/a> \u2014\u00a0but he would prefer that his iconic ladies man remain as such.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I think Aaron would be straight,&#8221; Bennett tells host Tommy DiDario in <em>Entertainment Weekly<\/em>&#8216;s exclusive preview of his upcoming appearance on the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/1119-ive-never-said-this-befor-117748070\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:I've Never Said This Before;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>I&#8217;ve Never Said This Before<\/em><\/a> podcast, when the host questions if he would want Aaron Samuels to be depicted as gay in a potential sequel, considering his own sexuality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bennett, who is over 20 years removed from playing the North Shore hottie who catches the eye of\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/lindsay-lohan\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Lindsay Lohan;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Lindsay Lohan<\/a>&#8216;s Cady Heron and\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/rachel-mcadams\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Rachel McAdams;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Rachel McAdams<\/a>&#8216; Regina George, points out that &#8220;almost all the guys&#8221; who play the major characters in <em>Mean Girls<\/em> have come out as queer since the film&#8217;s release, &#8220;which is just funny to me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bennett, Daniel Franzese (who played Damian Leigh), and Rajiv Surendra (who played Kevin Gnapoor) were all closeted while making <em>Mean Girls, <\/em>and came out in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gaytimes.com\/culture\/mean-girls-stars-jonathan-bennett-and-daniel-franzese-came-out-to-each-other-during-filming\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:2017;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">2017<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2022\/06\/28\/mean-girls-star-daniel-franzese-details-conversion-therapy\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:2014;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">2014<\/a>, and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/entertainment\/books\/rajiv-surendra-traveled-from-mean-girls-to-chalk-artist\/2016\/11\/15\/7c58ee88-909f-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:2018;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">2018<\/a>, respectively.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div style=\"max-height:none;overflow:visible\">\n<p>Everett<\/p>\n<p> Jonathan Bennett and Rachel McAdams in &#8216;Mean Girls&#8217;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I\u00a0think Aaron would be straight because I wouldn&#8217;t want to change the narrative of Aaron Samuels because Jonathan Bennett is gay. You would keep the narrative of Aaron Samuels because that&#8217;s the story,&#8221; he reasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">That&#8217;s not to say that Bennett doesn&#8217;t have ideas on what would happen should a sequel come to fruition. The <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/finding-mr-christmas-8735615\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Finding Mr. Christmas;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Finding Mr. Christmas<\/em><\/a> star acknowledges that no one has actually conceptualized the idea of a follow-up to the 2004 film, but says the desire to reprise their original roles is there for &#8220;99 percent of the cast.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bennett tells DiDario, &#8220;I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s been an actual conversation between us that I can remember. But, like, in the group chat, do we want to do it? Yes. It&#8217;s just, we did that movie 22 years ago, so it&#8217;s like&#8230; everyone grows up. We were kids shooting this movie. And then you grow up and get your lives&#8230; So it&#8217;s like, we would love to come back and bring the band back together. It&#8217;s just way above my pay grade. That&#8217;s a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/tina-fey\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Tina Fey;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Tina Fey<\/a> question.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">And if Fey gives a sequel the green light, Bennett shares that he believes his character would have become a teacher in the decades since the original film.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;Why don&#8217;t we just do the movie everyone wants; we all come back, I&#8217;m a teacher at the school, the girls are grown up [and] have their own kids, and now their daughters are coming to school,&#8221; Bennett suggests, adding that the film&#8217;s plot would center on the parents&#8217; of the kids in school as they&#8217;re the former Mean Girls. &#8220;It&#8217;s just in your face, like, that&#8217;s the storyline. It&#8217;s not rocket science.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong><em>Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with\u00a0our\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/ew-dispatch-newsletter-11812417\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:EW Dispatch newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">EW Dispatch newsletter<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The actor quips that as someone that does Hallmark Channel movies, he thinks &#8220;a lot about multi-generational viewing,&#8221; which would be a perfect way for both new and old fans of <em>Mean Girls<\/em> to enjoy a sequel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;You could have a storyline for all the parents who are the millennials that are fans of the movie [and] grew up with it; so they&#8217;re going to be attached to, like Lacey, Amanda, me. And then you have the kids who are the new [stars] for their kids to be watching, so they can identify with those kids,&#8221; Bennett pitches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">DiDario jokes that Bennett is &#8220;such a producer,&#8221; which the star takes on the chin, adding, &#8220;Tina, write [the movie]. I ain&#8217;t getting any younger, sweetie.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Jojo Whilden\/Paramount Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels in 'Mean Girls (2024)'\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"639\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/T2Eq2V7c.IUiBTVqbL_zoA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzOTtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/entertainment_weekly_785\/23b71acb8dfb4c51411349366c07246a\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><i>Jojo Whilden\/Paramount Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels in &#8216;Mean Girls (2024)&#8217;<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Mean Girls<\/em> \u2014 based on the 2002 book<em>\u00a0Queen Bees and Wannabes<\/em>\u00a0by Rosalind Wiseman \u2014 has become a modern classic, and inspired a Broadway musical that ran from 2017 to 2019, which laid the foundation for <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/mean-girls-review-tina-fey-musical-update-of-teen-classic-8424303\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Fey's 2024 movie musical adaptation;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Fey&#8217;s 2024 movie musical adaptation<\/a> starring <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/angourie-rice\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Angourie Rice;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Angourie Rice<\/a> in the role of Cady, with Rene\u00e9 Rapp in the role of Regina.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bennett passed the torch of Aaron Samuels to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/the-summer-i-turned-pretty-tv-series\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:The Summer I Turned Pretty;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>The Summer I Turned Pretty<\/em><\/a> star Christopher Briney for the film, who called the role a &#8220;dream.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">As for the possibility of a sequel that features the original stars, Fey previously said she tried to bring back all four actresses for the movie musical but &#8220;it didn&#8217;t come together.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I have a feeling Paramount would love that. I have not really thought much about that,&#8221; Fey told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/10\/movies\/mean-girls-tina-fey.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:The New York Times;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>The New York Times<\/em><\/a> in January 2024. &#8220;To me, part of why the stakes are so high in the story is because everyone&#8217;s so young and feelings are huge, love is huge and friendship is huge in a way [that it isn&#8217;t with] middle-aged moms. I love writing about middle-aged people, but I don&#8217;t know.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Watch the clip of Jonathan Bennett on the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/1119-ive-never-said-this-befor-117748070\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:I've Never Said This Before;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>I&#8217;ve Never Said This Before<\/em><\/a> podcast above. The full episode drops on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/jonathan-bennett-why-he-doesnt-want-his-mean-girls-character-to-be-gay-in-sequel-11841580\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Entertainment Weekly;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Entertainment Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jonathan Bennett would never turn down a chance to return to the Mean Girls universe \u2014 yes, it&#8217;s a multiverse,\u00a0Tina Fey said so \u2014\u00a0but he would prefer that his iconic ladies man remain as such. &#8220;I think Aaron would be straight,&#8221; Bennett tells host Tommy DiDario in Entertainment Weekly&#8216;s exclusive preview of his upcoming appearance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2132500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[386515,386511,351270,346736,344464,387330,352340,348301,348317],"class_list":["post-2132499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-aaron-samuels","tag-cady-heron","tag-entertainment-weekly","tag-jonathan-bennett","tag-rachel-mcadams","tag-regina-george","tag-sequel","tag-tina-fey","tag-tommy-didario"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Jonathan-Bennett-reveals-why-he-doesnt-want-his-Mean-Girls.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2132499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2132499"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2132499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2132501,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2132499\/revisions\/2132501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2132500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2132499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2132499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2132499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}