DAMIAN from Mean Girls wants you to know – even if you don’t go hereYou are still in his heart.
Daniel Franzese, who co-starred in the original 2004 teen film, spoke to The US Sun about his contributions to the film’s script, the cast members he still talks to, lobbying Congress — and his true feelings about color pink.
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The 2004 blockbuster remains a comforting reimagining for legions of fans, inspiring a Broadway musical and a 2024 reboot.
Starring Rachel McAdams as Regina, Lindsey Lohan as new girl Cady, Amanda Seyfried as Karen, and Lacey Chabert as Gretchen, Mean Girls became instantly iconic.
But no one could deny DaniloThe scene-stealing powers of Damian, whose one-liners – ‘You go, Glenn Coco’ and ‘She’s not even going here’ – are quoted decades later.
Damian remains a favorite of many fans, especially those in the LGBTQ community.
“Even though I was still closeted at the time, I knew I had to play this role,” he told The US Sun.
MEANING AVERAGE GIRLS
Daniel admitted he didn’t expect Mean Girls to be so big when he auditioned for the role of Damian, a queer-coded outcast and best friend to Janice Ian.
“I guess I thought it would be someone’s favorite movie. I don’t know what everyone’s favorite movie is, but I figured someone would like it,” he said.
The stand-up comedian added that he thinks the film’s release year played a role in “keeping it alive” for so long.
“I think we benefited a lot from it being a very ‘meme-able’ year, as if the meme was born in the same year,” he explained.
He also shared some behind-the-scenes moments from filming the cult hit decades ago.
He revealed that, to this day, one of the best things in his life was making Amy Poehler laugh out loud.
“I felt like I was winning in life whenever I could make her laugh,” he said.
“It was definitely a competition for all of us to try to make each other laugh and have fun.”
AD-LIB ADMISSIONS
Although “almost everything was planned”, there were some ad-libs – including some very memorable lines.
Daniel changed the sentence “My grandmother takes off her wig when she’s drunk” to “My grandmother takes off her wig when she’s drunk” to begin with.
“I have a grandmother and I mention her in almost all of my movies and shows,” he said.
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And her scathing “I want my pink shirt back” after Cady became a mean girl was all Daniel.
It wasn’t originally in the script, but he decided to include it while he, he and Lizzy Caplan were running away from Lindsay Lohan.
PINK SHIRT PROBLEMS
On Wednesdays, as every Mean Girls fan knows, we wear pink.
That is, except Daniel, who had to stop sporting his cheerful tone because of the crowd.
“Actually, I don’t wear pink anymore. I didn’t get my pink shirt back for a reason,” she joked.
Lacey Chabert and I talk all the time. She has a clothing line and sends some of her clothes to my mom.
Daniel Franzese
Although he wore this color, it drew many chants of “I want my pink shirt back” from fans on the streets.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t like it.
“I haven’t worn pink in a long time, but I remember it as a color I like to wear and I definitely think being kissed by the sun helps when you’re wearing some kind of pastel,” he said.
FRIENDS FOREVER
Years later, Daniel revealed that he still keeps in touch with some of his old Mean Girls co-stars.
“Lacey Chabert and I talk all the time. She has a clothing line and sends some of her clothes to my mom,” he said.
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He compared many of his other cast updates to “high school.”
“You see them when you see them and you love them when you do,” he explained.
“Amanda is now filming on the block where I was born in Brooklyn, and we talked about it because all my cousins are freaking out and still live there.”
Every thing that has motivated me to be ridiculed in my life is the reason I cashed a check today, so try to find your weakness and turn it into a paid one.”
Daniel Franzese
He also recently saw the OG Aaron Samuels, Jonathan Bennett, on Broadway in Spamalot.
Years after the film’s success, Jonathan also came out as gay and is happily married.
DAMIAN IS LUCKY
“The Damian I played 20 years ago, he was just a little flower, just trying to figure out who he was at that time,” Daniel said.
“I think it was definitely needed at that time and I think it was the big representation in 2004.”
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The current Damian we see in the adaptation of the musical reboot is played by Jaquey Spivey.
“He’s sexually active. He’s much more advanced. He’s how a queer person today would see themselves,” Daniel said.
“It would have been really cool to be ten years old and see something like that.”
Daniel said he came out about a decade ago, but felt accepted and supported almost instantly.
When I go talk to people in Congress, they’re like, ‘Oh, the guy from Mean Girls is here’ and they all want to take their selfies and they’re all excited.
Daniel Franzese
“It was like every aunt, cousin, fan or whoever knew who I was at that moment,” he said.
Daniel recognizes how groundbreaking his role was, having grown up at a time when there was still a lot of stigma and fear surrounding homosexuals, partly in reaction to the AIDS crisis of the 80s and 90s.
“It’s hard to find another chubby gay teenager in a movie before me who wasn’t ridiculed, ridiculed or punished for being who they were,” he said.
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“For me, as a child, this was like a light that I really needed in the darkness.
“Every single thing that has caused me to be ridiculed in my life is the reason I cashed a check today, so try to find your weakness and turn it into a paid one.”
LONG-TERM IMPACT
Twenty years later, Daniel still receives notices and letters from people telling him how meaningful his character on Mean Girls was to them.
He remembered meeting music video director Assad Yao at the Queerties Awards.
Yao, who had just won an award, told Daniel that when he was growing up in Dubai, he only saw gay men who were ostracized, mistreated or criminalized for who they were.
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Since Damian never kissed, never said he was gay and, in the end, didn’t get a boyfriend, this passed censorship abroad.
“It was his only representation of a queer person living comfortably as he was and as he is, and I think that’s really huge,” Daniel said.
Daniel also said he received a letter from a girl in Dallas whose best friend was gay.
The girl’s mother never liked him because of this – but she became more comfortable with him after watching Mean Girls.
“When [her mom] I fell in love with Damião, [her friend] was allowed to sleep and have dinner. The character literally prepared a seat at the table for him,” he said.
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“If I could help anyone, any queer person, any young person, feel a little different about themselves and see themselves in a little different light, that’s what I think I’m here for.”
PHILANTHROPIC PRESENCE
After doing Deepak Chopra and Oprah’s 28-day meditation challenge years ago, Daniel realized he wanted to redirect his attention from Mean Girls to important charitable causes.
Last April was his ninth year lobbying Congress on behalf of people with HIV and AIDS as an ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor Foundation for AIDS.
“When I go talk to people in Congress, they’re like, ‘Oh, the guy from Mean Girls is here’ and they all want to take their selfies and they’re all excited,” he explained.
Who knew Damian could sing?
Daniel Franzese is making a transition from acting and comedy on stage to focus on his music.
“My song, Man To Love, will be released at the end of the month. And I have another song called The Only Thing Missing, which will be released in July,” he told The US Sun.
Only Thing Missing will feature Parson James, known for appearing on Kygo’s Stole the Show.
“It’s really great for us to do this song together because years and years ago we were playing ‘Queer-eoke’ in a little gay bar in Brooklyn together,” Daniel said.
He has described his specific genre as “country-influenced pop rock.”
“So I say, ‘Now that we’ve taken a selfie, please listen to this woman who lives with HIV and who has a problem. This is one of your constituents.’
Once he has all the attention, he said he becomes a “megaphone” for people with “softer voices than his.”
“I needed that when I was younger. I needed people to speak on my behalf. I’m happy to be that person. If that’s the role God gives me, I’m here for it,” he said.
“It’s so funny how the things that made us feel weird are the things we’re proud of and that end up serving us later in life,” he said.
For anyone struggling, he shared some advice.
“Try to find a way to monetize your pain because it will help others see that there is a light at the end of the darkness,” he said.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
