Damian from 2004’s Mean Girls talks ad-libs, castmate friends, & pink shirts – and how the movie got him to Congress
DAMIAN from Mean Girls wants you to know — even if you don’t go here, you’re still in his heart.
Daniel Franzese, who co-starred in the original 2004 teen flick, spoke to The U.S. Sun about his contributions to the movie script, the cast members he still talks to, lobbying Congress — and his true feelings about the color pink.
The 2004 blockbuster remains a comfort rewatch for legions of fans, going on to inspire a Broadway musical and a 2024 reboot,
Starring Rachel McAdams as Regina, Lindsey Lohan as new girl Cady, Amanda Seyfried as Karen, and Lacey Chabert as Gretchen, Mean Girls became instantly iconic.
But no one could deny Daniel‘s scene-stealing powers as Damian, whose one-liners — “You go, Glenn Coco” and “She doesn’t even go here” — are quoted decades later.
Damian has endured as a favorite for many fans, especially those within the LGBTQ community.
“Even though I was still closeted at the time, I knew that I had to play this part,” he told The U.S. Sun.
MEAN GIRLS MEANING
Daniel admitted that he didn’t expect Mean Girls to be this big when he auditioned for the role of Damian, a queer-coded outcast and BFF to Janice Ian.
“I think my thought was it’s going to be someone’s favorite movie. I don’t know about everyone’s favorite movie, but I figured somebody would enjoy it,” he said.
The stand-up comedian added that he thinks the film’s release year played a role in “keeping it alive” for as long as it did.
“I think that we benefited a lot from it being a very ‘meme-able’ year, like the meme was born the same year,” he explained.
He also shared some behind-the-scenes moments from filming the cult hit decades ago.
He revealed that, to this day, one of the greatest things in his life was making Amy Poehler laugh out loud.
“I felt like I was winning at life anytime I could get her to giggle,” he said.
“It was definitely a competition for all of us to try to make each other laugh and have a good time.”
AD-LIB ADMISSIONS
Though “mostly everything was scripted,” there were a few ad-libs — including some very memorable lines.
Daniel changed the line “My Grammy takes her wig off to when she’s drunk” to “My nana takes her wig off when she’s drunk,” for starters.
“I have a nana and I mentioned her in almost all my films and shows,” he said.
And his biting “I want my pink shirt back” after Cady goes full mean girl was all Daniel.
It wasn’t originally in the script, but he decided to throw it in as he and he and Lizzy Caplan sped away from Lindsay Lohan.
PINK SHIRT PROBLEMS
On Wednesdays, every Mean Girls fan knows, we wear pink.
That is, except for Daniel, who had to stop sporting the cheery hue because of fans.
“I actually don’t wear pink myself anymore. For one reason, I didn’t get my pink shirt back,” he joked.
Lacey Chabert and I talk all the time. She has a clothing line and she sends my mom some clothes from it.
Daniel Franzese
Though he used to wear the color, it attracted too many calls of “I want my pink shirt back” from fans on the street.
That isn’t to say he doesn’t like it, though.
“I haven’t worn pink in a very long time, but I remember it as a fond color to wear and I definitely think getting kissed by the sun helps when you’re rocking some sort of pastel,” he said.
FRIENDS FOR LIFE
Years later, Daniel revealed that he still keeps in touch with a few of his old Mean Girls castmates.
“Lacey Chabert and I talk all the time. She has a clothing line and she sends my mom some clothes from it,” he said.
He compared many of his other cast catchups to “high school.”
“You see them when you see them and you love it when you do,” he explained.
“Amanda is now shooting on the block I was born on in Brooklyn, and we’ve talked about that because all my cousins are freaking out that still live there.”
Every single thing that I got made fun of for in my life is the reason I cash a check today, so try to find your pain point and turn it into a paid point.”
Daniel Franzese
He also recently saw the OG Aaron Samuels, Jonathan Bennett, on Broadway in Spamalot.
Years after the film’s success, Jonathan also came out as gay and is happily married.
DAMIAN GETS LUCKY
“The Damian that I did 20 years ago, he was just a little blossom, just kind of figuring out who he was at that time,” Daniel said.
“I think it was definitely needed at that time, and I think it was the great representation in 2004.”
The Damian of today that we see in the musical reboot adaptation is played by Jaquey Spivey.
“He is sexually active. He’s much more advanced. He’s how a queer person today would see themselves,” Daniel said.
“It would have been really nice to have been ten and seen something like that.”
Daniel said he came out of the closet about a decade ago but felt accepted and supported almost instantly.
When I go speak with our Congress folks, they’re like, ‘Oh, the guy from Mean Girls is here’ and everyone wants to take their selfie and they’re all excited
Daniel Franzese
“It was like every single old aunt or cousin or fan or whoever all knew who I was at that point,” he said.
Daniel recognizes how groundbreaking his role was, having grown up at a time when there was still a lot of stigma and fear about gay people, partially in reaction to the AIDS crisis of the ’80s and ’90s.
“I’m hard-pressed to find another chubby queer teen in a movie before me that wasn’t made fun of or ridiculed or punished for being who they were,” he said.
“To me, growing up, that was like a light that I really needed in the darkness.
“Every single thing that I got made fun of for in my life is the reason I cash a check today, so try to find your pain point and turn it into a paid point.”
LONG-TERM IMPACT
Twenty years later, Daniel still gets notices and receives letters from people who say how meaningful his character in Mean Girls was to them.
He recalled when he met music video director Assad Yao at the Queerties Awards.
Yao, who had just won an award, told Daniel that when he was a young person in Dubai, he only saw gay people who were ostracized, treated poorly, or criminalized for who they were.
Because Damian never had a kiss, never said he was gay, and didn’t get a boyfriend in the end, it made it past censors abroad.
“It was his only, only representation of a queer person living comfortably as they were and as they are, and I think that that’s really huge,” Daniel said.
Daniel also shared that he received a letter from a girl in Dallas whose best friend was gay.
The girl’s mom never liked him because of that — but she got more comfortable with him after watching Mean Girls.
“When [her mom] fell in love with Damian, [her friend] was allowed to sleep over and have dinner. The character literally set a place at the table for him,” he said.
“If I could help any person, any queer person, any young person, feel a little bit different about themselves and see themselves in a little bit of a different light, that’s really what I think I’m here for.”
PHILANTHROPIC PRESENCE
After doing the Deepak Chopra and Oprah 28-day meditation challenge years ago, Daniel realized that he wanted to redirect his Mean Girls attention toward important charitable causes.
This past April was his ninth year lobbying in Congress on behalf of people with HIV and AIDS as an ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.
“When I go speak with our Congress folks, they’re like, ‘Oh, the guy from Mean Girls is here’ and everyone wants to take their selfie and they’re all excited,” he explained.
Who knew Damian could sing?
Daniel Franzese is transitioning a bit from acting and on-stage comedy to focus on his music.
“My song, a Man To Love, is coming out at the end of the month. And I have another song called The Only Thing Missing Coming Out in July,” he told The U.S. Sun.
Only Thing Missing will feature Parson James, known for featuring on Stole the Show by Kygo.
“It’s kind of really great for us to do that song together because years and years and years ago we were doing ‘Queer-eoke’ at a little gay bar in Brooklyn together,” Daniel said.
He described his specific genre as “country-influenced pop rock.”
“Then I’m like, ‘Now that we’ve taken a selfie, please listen to this woman who’s living with HIV that has an issue. That’s one of your constituents.”
Once he has all their attention, he said he becomes a “megaphone” for people with “voices that are softer than his.”
“I needed that when I was younger. I needed people to speak up on my behalf. I’m happy to be the person. If that’s the role that God gives me, I’m here for it,” he said.
“It’s so funny how the things that made us feel weird are the things that we get proud of and end up serving us later in life,” he said.
For anyone struggling, he shared some advice.
“Try to find some way to monetize your pain because that will help others see that there’s a light at the end of the darkness,” he said.