Mean Girls the musical hit theaters last weekend, winning the box office as moviegoers donned their pink outfits and sexy mouse ears to see just how fetch the Broadway adaptation was. Tina Fey’s new script included plenty of Easter eggs and pop culture references for savvy fans to pick up on; however, one joke appeared to take a swipe at OG Mean Girls cast member Lindsay Lohan, and The Parent Trap star’s rep has responded.
There’s a line in Mean Girls about “fire crotch” being back, and those of us who were privy to the gossip blogs of the early aughts immediately recognized the moniker as a derogatory nickname that was once used to reference Lindsay Lohan. It seemed like a strange choice to include in a movie that was otherwise a huge celebration of its 2004 iteration, and sure enough, it seems the original star wasn’t too pleased, as her representative Leslie Sloane told The Messenger:
The Messenger further reports that a source overheard the actress saying that she was “surprised and taken aback” when she heard the line in the movie, and one could certainly understand why she might feel personally victimized by the reference.
Back in 2006, oil heir Brandon Davis went on a rant about Lindsay Lohan outside of a nightclub, talking about her vagina and famously calling her “fire crotch” as Paris Hilton could be seen nearby, laughing at the jokes. The unfortunate nickname stuck, and the viral incident ignited a years-long feud between Lohan and Hilton.
The scene in question happens during Megan Thee Stallion’s cameo in Mean Girls, as the rapper appears in a TikTok video with a photo of Angourie Rice’s Cady Heron, who — like Lindsay Lohan’s version of the character — has red hair. Megan Thee Stallion says:
Tina Fey has not commented on the inclusion of that line as of this writing, but it’s unlikely there was any intention to insult the OG Cady Heron. Lindsay Lohan herself makes a surprise cameo in the Mean Girls musical, appearing as the moderator of the Mathletes competition that Cady competes in.
In fact, Lindsay Lohan has fully embraced her role in the pop culture phenomenon that is Mean Girls, even reuniting with fellow Plastics Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried (who played original Toaster Strudel heiress Gretchen Wieners and weather prognosticator Karen Smith, respectively) in a holiday shopping ad for Walmart.
We’ll have to see if any official reasoning is given for choosing to include the Y2K-era nickname for Lindsay Lohan in the new movie, but in the meantime, you can catch the new Mean Girls movie in theaters now. For those who want to relive the original, the 2004 film is available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription, and be sure to also check out our 2024 movie calendar to see what else is hitting theaters soon.