Renée Rapp: ‘Male validation is like crack to me, and I hate it’

“No one is off limits – what a goddamn blessing,” she adds. “No one is doing it like the bisexual girl is. But I do still judge myself from time to time, which is f*cking weird.”

Renée is clear that these feelings link back to the patriarchy, and attitudes she has internalised from living within it. “We live in a society that caters to men, right?” she says with heartbreaking clarity – describing the subconscious instinct to view herself through the male gaze, one that many of us know all too well.  

“Male validation is like crack to me, and I hate it. I can be out and want nothing to do with men at all. But I still want that validation.” Like so many of us, she knows that this impulse runs deep, but is confident she can shift it with time.

“I don’t know what I need to do to reframe my mind,” she says. “I think it’ll help as I get older.” 

Renée is also completely aware of the darker recesses of her mind, and the importance of looking after it. “My mental health was weaponised against me when I was a kid,” she explains. “The conversation surrounding therapy, it was shameful. I was always the emotional one, and got made fun of for it. I was never emotionally stable – people called me a ticking time bomb.” 

After being diagnosed with a mood disorder and advised on ways to manage it, she describes feeling empowered by understanding her own mind better.

“I have reclaimed [my mental health] in the sense that I sought out help,” she explains, admitting she was afraid of medication for a long time, but now takes it when she needs it. “I go to therapy, I’ve figured out what kind of workouts calm my mind, and I honestly value having lots of friends and people in my life,” she says. 

“You literally are who you surround yourself with, but it’s always an ongoing journey with mental health.”

As she navigates both Hollywood and the music industry, Renée is insistent on commending the people who have fought for her generation to occupy space. But she is quick to point out the continuing problems with representation.

“I think a lot of people preach ‘we want inclusive casting, we want diverse companies, we want queer artists, we want Black artists, yada yada yada,” she says. “It’s very much preached, but I don’t think it’s necessarily practiced.

“It’s still the same white 60-year-old men or women that are controlling the entire thing. So let that not be lost, that we still live in that – you know what I mean?”

Really, Renée Rapp actually does give a f*ck. About all the most important things, including – above all – her own heart and inner peace.