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Not Reneé Rapp Shading 'Sex Lives Of College Girls' In Her New Song "Leave Me Alone"

Thank god Reneé Rapp is bringing back (tasteful) shade in pop music and finally feeding the young ex-wives (her fans). The singer just released her new single, “Leave Me Alone,” along with a playful, IDGAF vibes music video, and it’s instantly a top contender for 2025 song of the summer. This song marks Reneé’s first release in two years — she really was everywhere but the studio. In the lyrics, she pokes fun at her label begging her for new music and her departure from the now-cancelled HBO show, The Sex Lives of College Girls.

As the girls and gays know, Reneé starred as the fan-favorite character, Leighton Murray, for two seasons before leaving to focus on music. In a sentimental tweet about leaving the series, Reneé wrote, “A lot of queer work gets belittled—but playing Leighton has changed my life. I love who I am 10x more than I did before knowing her. I hope she gave y’all a little bit of that too.” This was an extremely painful exit, considering Reneé’s character was objectively the best part of the show. But alas, she was definitely born for pop music superstardom, so I think she made the right choice. In her new single, Reneé pretty obviously references (and jokingly disses) the show and giggles right after…

Let’s analyze Reneé Rapp shading Sex Lives of College Girls in “Leave Me Alone,” shall we?

Reneé Rapp Sex Lives Of College Girls Shade In New Song “Leave Me Alone”

Did Reneé Rapp Diss Sex Lives Of College Girls In Her New Song?

Throughout the song, Reneé expresses that she’s so over industry bullshit and repeats the line: “Leave me alone, bitch, I wanna have fun.” She’s clearly in her unserious, slightly messy era, and I love that for her. After singing about her manager demanding a single and how she’s just “so sick of it all,” Reneé croons: “Sign a hundred NDAs but I still say something / I took my sex life with me, now the show ain’t fuckin’.” I gasped.

Basically, this diva is aware that she was the best part of Sex Lives of College Girls… It’s no coincidence that it was cancelled following the first season sans Leighton. (The ratings unsurprisingly dropped as soon as she left.)

“We were very much hoping to find a new home for that one, and I think we’ve now come to the end of the road, which is disappointing, because it’s a show that we really love,” Warner Bros. TV Group chairman Channing Dungey told Deadline after the cancellation news came out. “I’m so proud of the three seasons that we did at Max but I don’t think there’s going to be more of College Girls.”

I honestly don’t think this reference is Reneé saying “fuck you” to the show or the cast. I think she’s just joking in a lighthearted, provocative-just-for-fun way. After all, she seemed to enjoy playing Leighton, and she became besties with her costar, Alyah Chanelle Scott. (When we chatted with Alyah back in December, the actor shared that she’s down to “collab on anything and everything” with Reneé, adding, “She’s great.”)

Needless to say, I’ll be streaming “Leave Me Alone” on repeat.

Ilana Frost
Ilana Frost is an entertainment writer at Betches. As a teenage girl in her twenties, she spends her time stanning Olivia Rodrigo, baking cakes for award shows, and refusing to ever leave her Reputation era.