It seems that Reneé Rapp isn't particularly fond of her college-set days in the spotlight. Less than two years after her departure from "The Sex Lives of College Girls" was made public, the 25-year-old subtly took a swipe at the HBO Max series in her newly released song "Leave Me Alone" on May 21. In the song's second verse, Reneé belts out, "I took my sex life with me, now the show ain't f--king. Leave me alone, b---h, I wanna have fun."
Although Reneé, who portrayed Leighton in the comedy series for two seasons before announcing her exit in July 2023, hasn't explicitly confirmed that this line is a dig, she has previously opened up about her challenging experiences on the set of "Sex Lives." The show was canceled after its third season in 2025.
"The first year doing 'College Girls' was absolutely dreadful," Reneé confessed to Alex Cooper on an episode of her "Call Her Daddy" podcast in February. "It was horrendous."
The "Pretty Girls" singer, who identifies as bisexual but was in a heteronormative relationship during her time on the show, revealed that she initially struggled with immense self-doubt regarding her portrayal of a queer character. "I kept thinking, 'I don't think I'm good enough to be here,'" she recalled. "I was constantly in a state of panic. I wasn't [straight], but the idea of my sexuality not being black and white, or people laughing at me—or me laughing at myself—made me despise the first year of filming."
However, Reneé eventually came to embrace her role as Leighton, a transformation she reflected upon when announcing her exit from the Mindy Kaling-created series, which also starred Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, and Alyah Chanelle Scott. "Many queer roles are underestimated, but playing Leighton has revolutionized my life," Reneé penned on Instagram at the time. "I love who I am ten times more than I did before knowing her. I hope she gave you all a glimpse of that too. She's just a small piece of representation, but even the smallest parts matter." She further added, "I wouldn't be half the person I am without her and all of you."
Mindy echoed these sentiments, expressing her sadness at seeing Reneé leave the series. "We adore @reneerapp so much," the "Office" alum wrote on her Instagram Stories at the time, "and it's going to be heartbreaking to bid farewell to Leighton Murray!"
