Your tip
RadarOnlineRadarOnline
or
Sign in with lockrMail
BREAKING NEWS

Gay 'Mean Girls' Actors Reveal How They Were Forced Into The Closet

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Openly gay actors Jonathan Bennett and Daniel Franzese, who starred opposite Lindsay Lohan in the classic 2004 film comedy Mean Girls, have revealed how they were forced to stay in the closet back then.

Bennett, who played Lohan's hunky beau Aaron, and Franzese, who portrayed the star's gay best bud Damian in the movie, recalled how they had to keep their sexuality secret nearly 15 years ago.

The two spoke on comedian/actor Stephen Kramer Glickman's "The Night Time Show" podcast, recently recorded live at the Hollywood Improv.

Article continues below advertisement

Bennett, now 37, told the crowd about Franzese, "His people were telling him, 'No, no no, don't come out, stay in the closet.' My people were like—"

Franzese, 40, interjected what Bennett's reps told him, "Get in there!, Aaron Samuels! Get in the closet, now!"

Bennett explained, "It was just a different time. Things were just weird."

When asked if they knew if each other were gay during Mean Girls filming, the actors said yes, midway through.

Article continues below advertisement

"It was like, 'Hey, girl,' " Franzese said to audience laughter. "I sniffed it out.

"I was like, oh, it's like you find the other unicorn in the village."

Franzese publicly revealed his homosexuality in 2014, the same year he had a sweet Mean Girls reunion with Lohan, now 31.

He said in the new interview, "We really have come a long way. The characters that were gay back in 2004 weren't as interesting as Damian was. They were like caricatures and a lot of like castrated punch lines. After doing something that was as progressive as Damian, the years that followed, there just wasn't those kinds of roles.

MORE ON:
Jonathan Bennett

DAILY. BREAKING. CELEBRITY NEWS. ALL FREE.

Article continues below advertisement

"I was up there for the role of Turtle in Entourage…all of a sudden after Mean Girls, nothing, only gay offers and only these caricature kind of roles," Franzese recalled.

But Franzese persevered in Hollywood and went on to play the well-rounded HIV-positive character Eddie on HBO's show Looking.

On the personal front, Franzese and his fiancé, Joseph Bradley Phillips, just announced they have called off their engagement.

Article continues below advertisement

“Sometimes shooting stars shine so brightly that they burn out and now we must go separate ways but I hope my path always crosses with his,” Franzese told PEOPLE.

“Joseph Bradley Phillips and I have decided to part ways, break our engagement promise and continue on into the future as friends.”

Lohan's other Mean Girls co-star, Bennett, came out as gay in October 2017.

Three years earlier, Bennett had competed on Dancing with the Stars season 19, and in an embarrassing "oops," judge Julianne Hough accidentally outed him. At that time, Bennett hadn't yet come out of the closet.

We pay for juicy info! Do you have a story for RadarOnline.com? Email us at tips@radaronline.com, or call us at (866) ON-RADAR (667-2327) any time, day or night.

More From Radar Online

    Opt-out of personalized ads

    © Copyright 2024 RADAR ONLINE™️. A DIVISION OF MYSTIFY ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK INC. RADAR ONLINE is a registered trademark. All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services. Offers may be subject to change without notice.