Lebanese And Lesbian

Since the release of the new Mean Girls 2024 movie, I've been watching a lot of reviews on YouTube, and I'm surprised at how many people claim that Regina got the word "Lebanese" confused with the word "lesbian" (in the original 2004 movie), and that's why she thought Janis was a lesbian. Then I find this under "Trivia" on IMDb's Mean Girls page (which may explain its origin)...

At the end of the movie, Kevin asks Janis about her ethnic background, and she answers that she is Lebanese. This is a payoff to a joke that has run through the entire movie: people bullying Janis persistently call her a lesbian, only to have her clarify at the end of the movie that she is in fact Lebanese instead.

Whoever wrote this must not have been paying attention to the movie… There is no joke running through the entire movie about people calling Janis a lesbian--It's only Regina that does that, and it's not even the joke. The joke is that Kevin G only dates women of color, so he is happy to hear that Janis is Lebanese. And simply stating that you're "Lebanese" doesn't clarify anything because one can be both Lebanese and lesbian at the same time. And they must have missed the scene where Regina says exactly why she thinks Janis is a lesbian...

She's so pathetic. Let me tell you something about Janis Ian. We were best friends in middle school. I know, right? It's so embarrassing. I don't even, whatever. So then in eighth grade, I started going out with my first boyfriend Kyle, who was totally gorgeous but then he moved to Indiana, and Janis was like weirdly jealous of him. Like, if I would blow her off to hang out with Kyle, she'd be like "Why didn't you call me back?" And I'd be like "Why are you so obsessed with me?" So then, for my birthday party, which was an all-girls pool party, I was like "Janis, I can't invite you, because I think you're a lesbian" I mean, I couldn't have a lesbian at my party.

There is no mention anywhere of Janis telling Regina that she was a lesbian. In fact, Regina says "I think". Had Janis told her that she was Lebanese (and Regina thought that meant "lesbian"), Regina wouldn't have to THINK--She would already KNOW, and Regina definitely would have included that in the story.

And if Janis told Regina that she was Lebanese (thought to mean "lesbian"), would the conversation end there? Or would Regina ask Janis follow-up questions like "How long have you felt this way?", "What type of girls are you attracted to?", etc., and any misunderstandings would immediately get cleared up. It is 100% impossible for 2 best friends to have any confusion on this issue.

And why would Regina need everyone to sign a petition proving that Janis is a lesbian if she already knew?...

Regina: I need you to sign this petition to prove that Janis is a lesbian.
Student: What makes you think that she is a lesbian?
Regina: Because she told me that she was.
Student: Then you've already got your proof. What do you need a petition for?

This would be so ridiculous that even Karen wouldn't think of doing something this dumb.

The movie makes it crystal-clear over and over that the only thing that Regina has in her case for Janis being a lesbian is mere speculation. This is to show us that Regina loves to spread rumors about people without any facts to back it up, so when she finally gets what's coming to her at the end, we'll be cheering it on and not feeling bad for her for getting 2 words confused.

I've tried arguing my case to people on various forums, but I haven't gotten anywhere, and it's frustrating because it seems so obvious. I have no problem with people interpreting movies however they want, but in this case, there's nothing to interpret.

So thanks for letting me get this off of my chest. Any thoughts?