During an interview with Vanity Fair, Amanda Seyfried, who starred in the 2004 cult classic “Mean Girls,” revealed that Blake Lively, known for her role in “Gossip Girl,” almost claimed the role of Karen Smith, the weather-predicting airhead, before Seyfried did.
Seyfried shared that during her first trip to Los Angeles with her mother, she met with Lacey Chabert and Lindsay Lohan for the first time. Blake Lively was already cast as Karen, but Seyfried left the room hoping for a call back to play Regina, the most popular girl in school. However, the filmmakers offered Seyfried the role of Karen instead.
According to Marci Liroff, the casting director of “Mean Girls,” Lively was a top contender for the role but was eventually passed over. Fortunately, Lively went on to star in other successful projects such as “Gossip Girl,” “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” and “Accepted.”
It was also revealed that Ashley Tisdale from “High School Musical” auditioned for the role of Gretchen Wieners but didn’t make it to the final round of auditions. Ultimately, the role went to Lacey Chabert.
Although Seyfried’s role in “Mean Girls” helped launch her career, she has revealed that it also attracted unwanted attention from male fans who would ask her if it was raining, a reference to Karen’s belief that she could predict the weather by feeling her breasts.
Seyfried and her co-stars, Chabert, Lohan, and Rachel McAdams, have agreed to return for a “Mean Girls” movie for Paramount+. However, reports suggest that they were unhappy with the streamer’s proposed compensation, which they deemed disrespectful.