Rachel McAdams ‘didn’t want to’ attend Mean Girls reunion as star steps away from Hollywood

Rachel McAdams was a notable absentee for a highly-anticipated film reunion, after admitting she rejected several hit films amid her break from Hollywood.

Rachel McAdams was a notable absentee for a mini Mean Girls reunion, after the star previously said she has long struggled with fame.

The Canadian actress, who played Regina George in the 2004 teen hit Mean Girls, was the only key character not to feature in a new Walmart commercial which featured Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert.

A source refuted feud speculation to Page Six, simply saying “Rachel McAdams didn’t want to do it.”

The source added, “They were all offered it. But the three of them loved being together for their reunion.

“They had a great time talking about being mums, and it was definitely a loss not having Rachel there.”

Rachel McAdams didn’t feature in the Mean Girls inspired ad. Picture: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Mean Girls stars Lindsay Lohan, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried reunited for a reunion in a Walmart ad.

The Walmart ad, which was commissioned to promote Black Friday, was a welcomed dose of nostalgia, reimagining the Jingle Bell Rock performance among other memorable scenes.

Rachel mcadams was too good to answer her phone?????? https://t.co/OsayHWOf8X

— Mel (@TheBaddestMitch) November 1, 2023

The leading ladies have come a long way since starring in the Tina Fey-created comedy.

A notoriously private McAdams, 44, has two children with her long-term boyfriend, screenwriter Jamie Linden: They welcomed a son in 2018 and daughter in 2020, though have never disclosed their names.

Meanwhile, Lohan, 37, has a newborn son with husband Bader Shammas, who she gave birth to in July, while Seyfried, also 37, is mum to Nina, 6, and Thomas, 3, with her husband Thomas Sadoski. Chabert, 41, has a seven-year-old daughter, Julia, with husband David Nehdar.

The 2004 teen comedy has become a cult classic.

McAdams’ decision not to participate comes months after she opened up in a rare interview, where she revealed she rejected a handful of big-budget films at the peak of her career in the mid-2000s.

The star took a two-year hiatus from acting from 2005 to 2007, where she declined roles in The Devil Wears Prada, Casino Royale, Mission: Impossible III, Iron Man and Get Smart.

“I felt guilty for not capitalising on the opportunity that I was being given because I knew I was in such a lucky spot,” the actress told Bustle in April.

“But I also knew it wasn’t quite jiving with my personality and what I needed to stay sane.”

While McAdams has been far from a stranger from the big screen, more recently starring in the 2022 Doctor Strange sequel and Netflix’s Eurovision Song Contest in 2020, the Oscar-nominated actress takes on fewer commitments than she did following her breakout roles in 2004’s The Notebook and Mean Girls.

Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams starred in the 2020 Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest.

After her two-year break, McAdams hit the ground running again, consistently starring in movies from 2009 until 2015, including leading roles in Sherlock Holmes, The Vow, Midnight in Paris and the Academy Award-winning film, Spotlight.

However, McAdams suggested in her interview with Bustle she has long struggled with the fame side of the job.

“You don’t go to theatre school to learn about how to deal with [fame]. There’s no book on how to navigate that,” she explained.

“There were definitely some anxious moments of wondering if I was just throwing it all away, and why was I doing that?

“It’s taken years to understand what I intuitively was doing.”

While McAdams has no announced films in the pipeline, she’s primed to revisit her theatre roots and will make her Broadway debut in Manhattan Theatre Club’s upcoming production of Mary Jane, which will premiere in April 2024.

Originally published as Rachel McAdams ‘didn’t want to’ attend Mean Girls reunion as star steps away from Hollywood