Mean Girls is one of the most iconic teen comedies of the early 2000s, launching the careers of stars like Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, Lizzy Caplan, and Lacey Chabert.
Amanda Seyfried’s role in the film propelled her to success, ultimately leading to a remarkable fortune of $16 million, as reported by Celebrity Net Worth.
However, Seyfried told Today in 2021, about a couple of ways herfame has profoundly affected her negatively. She shared that the constant spotlight has led to overwhelming anxiety and intense panic attacks. Seyfried described these episodes as so severe that they can feel like a matter of life or death.
“That’s what a panic attack is, really. Your body just goes into fight or flight. The endorphin rush and the dump that happens after the panic attack is so extraordinary. You just feel so relieved and your body is just kind of recovered in a way. It’s so bizarre because it’s physiological, but it starts in your head.”
Amanda Seyfried Was ‘Grossed Out’ By Men’s Reactions To Famous ‘Mean Girls’ Scene
In Mean Girls, Seyfried’s character Karen famously tells Cady that she can tell when it’s raining using her breasts. At the end of the film, Karen can then be seen working as an actual weather girl. It’s pouring down with rain and Karen feels her breasts and proclaims: “This is Karen Smith. It’s 68 degrees and there’s a 30 percent chance that it’s already raining.”
In a 2022 interview with Marie Claire, Amanda explained that after the film came out, men would come up to her in the street and quote the line to her.
She said: “I always felt really grossed out by that. I was like 18 years old. It was just gross.”
Amanda Seyfried makes constant effort to be “normal”
Discussing her fame in the same Marie Claire interview, Amanda said:
“Fame is weird. I’ve never been super famous. I’ve always been somewhat recognizable. It’s been the healthiest trajectory. [It’s] not a scary spike. I have my priorities. I know who I am. I know where I’m going. I know what it means.”
Seyfried went on to explain that she’s made choices to avoid the spotlight in her post-“Mean Girls” career, revealing what she did differently.
“I think being really famous [young] must really fucking suck,” she said. “It must make you feel completely unsafe in the world. I see these younger actors who think they have to have security. They think they have to have an assistant. They think their whole world has changed. It can get stressful. I’ve seen it happen to my peers. So I bought a farm. I was like, Let’s go in the opposite way.”
Seyfried told Today, that she constantly feels compelled to prove that she isn’t an out-of-touch celebrity with a giant ego, and wants people to recognize how “normal” she is.
Seyfried then brought up some examples of what her life is like.
“I do not have someone waking me up with breakfast in bed, and I’m not chauffeured around.”
“And every time I meet someone new, I’m just so desperate for them to understand that you can talk to me. I wanna connect like everybody else, because I am like everybody else.”