Teen Melissa Gilbert (15) and Dean Butler (23): An Age-Gap Romance on the Prairie

Page Six posted that: “Melissa Gilbert’s mom ruined teen’s first on-screen kiss with 23-year-old actor by sobbing: New book” (June 21, 2024)

In the post, Nicki Gostin reported that 15-year-old Melissa Gilbert, whom played Laura “Half-Pint” Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie, had her first age-gap kiss with 23-year-old actor Dean Butler whom played Almanzo Wilder. 

"Sweet Sixteen" (s06e22)
Melissa Gilbert (15) and Dean Butler (23)

This kiss happened on episode “Sweet Sixteen” (s06e22) where, after Butler said lovingly, “Sweet Sixteen”, Gilbert leaned in for the kiss. 

"He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" (s06e23)
Melissa Gilbert (15) and Dean Butler (23)

And on the very next episode, “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not” (s06e23), after Butler informed Gilbert’s character, “I want you to be my wife,” and Gilbert replied, “I’d love to,” they kissed again. (Note: There’s no word on how many takes the scenes took.)

Consequently, per Butler’s book, Prairie Man: My Little House Life & Beyond, Barbara Abeles, Gilbert’s mother, “loudly wept” and “[...] Michael Landon, the show’s star as well as its writer and director, had to yell ‘cut.’”

Gostin related that, unsurprisingly, Gilbert’s Jewish mother didn’t approve of Butler’s casting, because Gilbert: “[...] had just turned 15.” And Butler wrote that Abeles’: “[...] unhappiness culminated, perhaps, in not being able to bear seeing me kiss her daughter. It was a protective displeasure.” 

Dean Butler (23) and Melissa Gilbert (15)

Of their on-screen age-gap relationship, which eventually became an on-screen age-gap marriage, Butler shared that Gilbert said, “You were a man, a grown-up man with a car and an apartment. I was a really young teenager [...] I wasn’t allowed to shave my legs and I’d never even been on a date.” [Emphasis added]

Gilbert wrote about the age-gap affair in Prairie Tale, her memoir, where she titled the chapter “Oh Shit, They Got a Real Man!”. Of season 6, Gilbert wrote that even though she was a  “flat-chested fifteen-year-old who looked thirteen”, she knew that she was: “[...] going to have to show affection, kiss, and at some point go to bed with a guy [...]”

“I knew I was going to have to show affection, kiss, and at some point go to bed with a guy when in real life I was a knock-kneed, flat-chested fifteen-year-old who looked thirteen, still wore rubber bands and a retainer in her mouth, and had never gone out with, kissed, or even held hands with a boy.” [Emphasis added]

Gilbert wrote that she was “excited about the idea” and that she was “definitely excited to see who the producers chose for this all-important role [...]”, and when she found out that Dean Butler had been cast, she was: “[...] freaked out a little from nerves, but in a good way.”

In addition, Gilbert reiterated that Butler was a “grown-up man” whom “[...] shaved, drove a car, and lived in his own apartment.” Interestingly, Gilbert naively opined that she feared that Butler would be “bummed”, inconvenienced, and disappointed by the prospect of having an (on-screen) affair with a 15-year-old nymphet.

“That’s right, Dean [Butler] was a grown-up man. I looked at him as if he’d risen from Dr. Frankenstein’s lab. He was in his twenties. He shaved, drove a car, and lived in his own apartment. He must have felt so bummed upon meeting this dorky, freaked-out fifteen-year-old with peach fuzz all over her legs (I hadn’t even shaved them yet), and being told I was the one he had to fall in love with and marry. How inconvenient and disappointing for him.”

Interestingly, Gilbert wrote: “I didn’t want to kiss a man. I didn’t want to kiss anyone with stubble!” And she added: “When the time came to kiss Dean, I shut my eyes (inside, they were blank screens) and gently puckered up, letting him find the target.” 

However, a viewing of the scene revealed that Gilbert initiated the kiss. In the scene, Gilbert kept her eyes open as she stared lovingly into Butler's eyes, she leaned in as her eyes darted from Butler’s lips to his eyes, and then she closed her eyes, as most humans do - regardless of age, as they kissed. 

Of the on-screen age-gap romance, Gilbert wrote: “This was the real beginning of Laura and Almanzo’s romance, which was one of the great romances of all time.”

In response to the age-gap kiss, recall that Butler wrote that Gilbert’s mother “loudly wept”, which caused the director to yell ‘cut’, but Gilbert wrote in her memoir that after the kiss, she turned and saw her mother: “[...] standing just off camera, smiling with tears in her eyes.” In other words, crying all the way to the bank.

Lastly, recall that Gilbert related that prior to kissing Butler, she confessed that she had “never even been on a date” and that she had “never gone out with, kissed, or even held hands with a boy.” However, in a seeming contradiction, which is typical of (age-gap) memoirs, Gilbert shared that she had a “budding romance” with Micheal Landon Jr., which: “[...] hadn’t been contrived for PR purposes like so many teen romances in Hollywood.” And in fact, Gilbert’s kiss with Butler was not her first on-screen kiss. She related that she had been “[...] kissed years earlier in another episode, but it had been an innocent little peck. This was Laura’s first real kiss, one she desired [...]” [Emphasis added]

Unbreakable MEAN GIRLS: A Study of Tina Fey’s Portrayal of (Self) Sexualized Teens (Part 3)

 Regina

In the Broadway musical, during “Meet the Plastics”, Regina sang in the cafeteria that she did not have any (teen) breast implants, “AND THESE? THESE ARE REAL.” To confirm Regina’s assertion, Damian squeezed her left breast. 

Mean Girls: The Musical | Regina's Humped

And when Regina sang, “THIS WHOLE SCHOOL HUMPS MY LEG LIKE A CHIHUAHUA”, three boys surrounded Regina and simulated sex (i.e., dry humped) the stage floor and Regina’s legs. 

As it relates to Regina’s breasts, in the libretto, the ensemble merely asked about Regina’s eating habits, her fashion sense, and her dating life. 

ENSEMBLE

WHAT’S REGINA EATING? WHAT’S REGINA WEARIN’? 

IS SHE DATING AARON? 

REGINA! REGINA! 

SHE HAS EV’RYTHING”

REGINA! REGINA! REGINA! 

But during the Broadway musical, the ensemble asked about Regina’s breast size.

ENSEMBLE

WHAT’S REGINA EATING? [...] 

DID HER BOOBS GET BIGGER? 

REGINA! REGINA! SHE HAS EV’RYTHING

Subsequently, Broadway theatergoers learned from Rachel H. that Regina was, “[...] considered the prettiest girl in school.” And that Regina could be nice to her friends too. For instance, in the libretto, Regina informed Cady, “I’m gonna buy you those suede heels ‘cause you need more.” More what, you may ask? Regina opined that Cady needed more: height, style, and butt lift. 

CADY

(re: shoes in window) Cady, come here. I’m gonna buy you those suede heels ‘cause you need more.

CADY

More what?

REGINA

More shoes, more height, more style, more butt lift - trust me, more is better.

But during the Broadway musical Regina said, “Cady, look at the shoes. I’m gonna buy you those suede hills to lift your butt.” (Interestingly, the shoes were from Shameless Footwear.)

Mean Girls: The Musical | Regina's Cheeky

Due to a prank, Regina gained weight from eating Kälteen bars, which prevented her from fitting into her skirt. Consequently, she stomped around the Broadway stage in a pair of cheeky black panties before she, like Karen in the 2024 film, turned around, fully bent over, and displayed her teen fanny to the audience. (Interestingly, Regina’s panties were over a pair of nude tights that were given a “lift” with implants.)

REGINA 

This skirt won't close. Cady, these Kälteen bars suck.

CADY

No, you have to make sure you eat enough carbs to...activate them.

REGINA

(at Gretchen) Stop playing with that stupid babyish book and help me find a safety pin!

REGINA holds the skirt and stomps around in her underwear. GRETCHEN flits around looking for a pin.

Eventually, Regina stopped stomping, turned around, bent over and exposed her cheeky panties, that barely covered her vagina, to the audience. 

Mean Girls (2024) | Talent Show

In all three versions of Mean Girls, the Plastics (i.e., Cady, Gretchen, Karen, and Regina) danced seductively during the Winter Talent Show. The 2004 performance was named Jingle Bell Rock, but the Plastics in the Broadway musical and in the 2024 film performed "Rockin' Around the Pole". In all three performances, which were staged every school year, the Plastics were dressed as sexy teen Santa's Helpers, which included Santa's hats and red mini skirts. While all three performances were salacious, the Broadway performance was the most salacious, because when the “Hot Elves” sang “WE’LL ROCK THAT POLE ALL NIGHT!”, for the sixth year in a row, Regina's skirt fell off. 

Mean Girls: The Musical | Talent Show

To clarify, Regina's mini skirt fell to the Broadway stage to, once again, reveal her teen cheeky black panties. And once again, she turned around, bent over, and displayed herself to the audience. Consequently, there were "posts and memes of REGINA'S exposed butt" on social media, which were displayed on the stage's LED screens (e.g., OMG! OH…MY…, I’M feeling hungry!, and trishjshaw posted: Was that Regina’s talent? #Glutes). Consequently, Damian asked, "Was it funny when Regina bent over and it looked like her butt ate her underwear? Yes. One million percent." But to be fair, the skirts of the “Hot [teen] Elves” were so short that all of their underwear could be briefly yet clearly seen on Broadway. 

LIL BIPPY LEE (V.O.)

WE’LL ROCK THAT POLE ALL NIGHT!

Regina’s skirt falls off. 

REGINA

Aagh!

SHE bends over to pick it up. Everything freezes. JANIS and DAMIAN address the audience. 

LED screens fill with posts and memes of REGINA’S exposed butt.

DAMIAN

Was it funny when Regina bent over and it looked like her butt ate her underwear? Yes. One million percent.

We learned throughout Fey’s Mean Girls oeuvre, that Regina cheated on Aaron with Shane Oman. In the 2004 film, instead of doing SAT prep, Regina cheated on Aaron with Shane in the, “[...] projection room above the auditorium.” In the 2024 film, Regina cheated on Aaron with Shane, “[...]  in the third floor janitorial closet on the bags of sawdust that they use for barf!” However, the Broadway musical provided some detail on exactly how Regina and Shane were hooking up. On Broadway, Gretchen informed Cady that Regina was, “[...] hooking up with Shane Oman in the North Shore Lions costume!”

GRETCHEN

Also she totally cheats on Aaron. Every Thursday she says she has SAT Prep, but really she's hooking up with Shane Oman in the North Shore Lions costume!

CADY

She makes him wear the costume?

GRETCHEN

No, they’re both in the costume. And I never told anyone because I’m such a good friend.”

Apparently, in this context, “hooking up” meant teen sex, because an actor in a lion costume aggressively simulated having sex. And he was not alone in the custome. 

In addition, Damian divulged while singing “Where Do You Belong”, that the high school’s band members were particularly sexually active (e.g., teen oral sex and “fingering”)

DAMIAN

HERE’S THE SEX’LLY ACTIVE BAND GEEKS, 

I GOT TWO WORDS FOR YOU:

"EMBOUCHURE" AND "EW."

AND IF YOU LIKE BLOWING... AND FINGERING,

BAND GEEKS

THIS IS THE GROUP FOR YOU!

Mean Girls (2024) | Regina's Are Real

Just like in the Broadway musical, in the 2024 film, Regina sang, “And these are real.” Thereby, reassuring filmgoers and streamers that her teen breasts did not have any implants. However, unlike in the musical, Regina’s breast was not fondled, but after Regina opened her jacket in the high school’s cafeteria to reveal her cleavage, like Price Is Right models, Karen and Gretchen placed their hands below Regina’s breasts. Thereby, leaving no doubt about what Regina was referencing. 

Logically, the setting of the Broadway musical’s overture was in North Shore High School's auditorium where shortly after Damian welcomed the freshmen to high school, Janis directed the theatergoers to her painting of a vagina that she said represented female teenage power.

DAMIAN

Good morning! Welcome to high school.

Mean Girls: The Musical | Janis' Art

JANIS

“This painting I made will represent female teenage power.”

Thus, Janis asserted that “female teenage power” comes from the teen vagina. And in terms of Janis, we learned from the Broadway musical that Regina didn’t invite Janis to her pool party, because Regina suspected that Janis was a (teen) lesbian.

REGINA 

Janis, I can’t invite you to my pool party, ‘cause I think you’re a lesbian.

But in the 2024 film, Damian shared that Regina was the (lipstick) lesbian. Damian related that while middle schoolers, “[...] Regina was worried that Kyle liked Karen more.” Thus, during an after (middle) school game of spin the bottle, Regina decided to seduce Kyle by putting on a “little [girl-on-girl kissing] show” by kissing Janis. Consequently, Kyle got an erection. Damian said, “[...] Kyle was like ‘boing’!”

Mean Girls (2024) | Lipstick Lesbians

Speaking of girl-on-girl kissing, in the 2004 film, at an after-school Halloween house party, two scantily clad school girls kissed sensuously while a male student exclaimed, "Yes! Yes!" And after it was revealed that all the school girls had been backbiting each other, Ms. Norbury (Fey), a math teacher, said, "There's been some girl-on-girl crime here."

Mean Girls (2004) | Sexy Costumes

Speaking of Halloween and scantily clad school girls, in the 2004 film, Cady narrated, “In the regular world, Halloween is when children dress up in customs and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” In addition, in the 2024 film and during the Broadway musical, Gretchen went even further by stating that not dressing like a slut (on Halloween) was, in fact, slut shaming.  Gretchen opined, "Cady, if you don't dress slutty, that is slut-shamming us." Thus, it should come as no surprise that during the Broadway musical, Regina dressed as a (teen) Playboy Bunny - complete with a cheeky bottom. And during “Someone Gets Hurt”, while still dressed as a Playboy Bunny, Regina placed Aaron hand on her left breast. 

Just like in the Broadway musical, in the 2024 film, Regina informed “Karen, I can see your bra.” Karen replied, “It’s on purpose. I’m going for a look.” Consequently, Regina asked, “Is it ‘girl who slept with eleven people’?” Thereby, once again, informing streamers that Karen had sex with eleven people - presumably, all before the age of 16! 

Interestingly, in the 2004 film, the teens weren’t the only characters who self-sexualized. For example, Mrs. George (Amy Poehler), opened Regina's bedroom door and discovered her daughter passionately kissing Shane Oman on the bed. Shockingly yet graciously, Mrs. George offered her teen daughter and Shane snacks and a condom. Mrs. George, "You guys need anything? Some snacks? A condom? Let me know. Oh, God love you." And in the 2004 film and during the Broadway musical, upon meeting Cady for the first time, Mrs. George inexplicably shared, "We haven't had any new meat in our little lady taco in so long." However, Mrs. George didn't clarify if the "we" included her teen daughter. 

Mean Girls (2004) | (Little) Girls Gone Wild

As for motifs related to self-sexualized teens, there were inferences in the 2004 film to the Girls Gone Wild franchise. For instance, while Regina was on the phone with Cady, Regina’s preteen sister was watching a Spring Beach Party advertisement on television. During the advertisement a brunette and blond spring breaker raised their cropped tops to reveal their bare breasts above their bikini bottoms. Consequently, Regina’s preteen sister raised her top too! During an all-girl high school brawl, where a schoolboy encouraged, "Yeah! Take your top off!", the secretary informed the principal, "They've gone wild. The girls have gone wild." And in terms of schoolboys requesting the schoolgirls take their tops off, in the libretto, after Cady introduced herself to the class, Cady’s classmates demanded that she go topless. 

CADY

Hello, my name if Cady Heron

STUDENTS

No one cares!/Take your top off! 

However, Fey gave high school actors the: “Option not to say that line.” And those lines had been removed from the Broadway performance that I saw. 

Recall that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s Simone had an age-gap affair with Dr. Jerry, a married ophthalmologist, whom, while showering [post sex], confessed to 15-year-old Simone that he hated his wife. And that Xanthippe received jewelry from her dad’s friend in exchange for her retainers. In addition, in the libretto, Cady revealed via "Stupid With Love" that when she was a whopping 5-years-old, she, "[...] fell in love, [with] this Peace Corps guy." That's correct - not "peace corps boy" but "guy". Cady's love was unrequited, but it took eight years before she "gave up trying"!

CADY

WHEN I WAS FIVE, I FELL IN LOVE, THIS PEACE CORPS GUY 

I BARED MY SOUL BESIDE THE WATER HOLE,

WHICH MADE HIM LAUGH.

CADY 

BY THIRTEEN I GAVE UP TRYING

But during the Broadway musical, she sang, “WHEN I WAS FIVE, I FELL IN LOVE. IT DIDN’T LAST.” Cady didn’t mention her love interest’s age; however, she did share that her love interest was Kenyan. “HE RAN FROM ME. LITERALLY RAN FROM ME. AND BEING KENYAN, HE RAN FAST.” Then Cady clarified that she was actually 10-years-old when she fell in love with a Peace Corps guy. “WHEN I WAS TEN - IN LOVE AGAIN. THIS PEACE CORP GUY. I WAITED FOR HOURS - INSIDE HIS TEN WITH FLOWERS. WHICH MADE HIM LAUGH. WHICH MADE ME CRY. BY THIRTEEN, I GAVE UP TRYING.”

Yet, in the 2024 film, Cady (Angourie Rice) sang that she was 9-years-old when she fell in love with "This Peace Corps guy" and that she waited inside his tent with flowers.

“When I was nine\I fell I love\This Peace Corps guy\I waited hours inside his tent with flowers\Which made him laugh\Which made me cry\By 13 I gave up trying”

Blame It On Rio (1984)

Cady reminded me of the film Blame It On Rio (1984) where 17-year-old Jennifer (Michelle Johnson) used her youthful beauty and insatiable libido to seduce Matthew (Michael Caine) - her father's 49-year-old best friend. After sex, but still in bed, Jennifer shared with Matthew that her (puppy) love for him began when she was 10-years-old. Jenner to Matthew, "I love you [...] I used to pretend [...] that we were married [...] when I was ten."

Lastly, as it relates to Cady, due to her attraction to her classmate Aaron, Cady shared that she was filled with “CALCULUST.”

A Study of Tina Fey’s Portrayal of (Self) Sexualized Teens (Part 1)

A Study of Tina Fey’s Portrayal of (Self) Sexualized Teens (Part 2)

Unbreakable MEAN GIRLS: A Study of Tina Fey’s Portrayal of (Self) Sexualized Teens (Part 2)

We concluded part 1 with: [I]ntrigued by Fey’s work, I decided to view the [Mean Girls] Broadway musical and read Fey's libretto, which were based on the 2004 film. I streamed Mean Girls (2004). And I watched Mean Girls (2024) - a film that was, of course, co-written by Fey and based on Fey’s Broadway musical. Below, before discussing Fey’s Mr. Mayor (2021), I profiled Karen and Regina. And I covered a number of motifs of the theme of self-sexualized teens such as teens in age-gap relationships, teen Girls Gone Wild, and what I refer to as teen lipstick lesbianism (i.e., seemingly heterosexual teens participating in girl-on-girl sexual situations).

Karen

Here’s the synopsis for Mean Girls (2004) from Rotten Tomatoes:

Teenage Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) was educated in Africa by her scientist parents. When her family moves to the suburbs of Illinois, Cady finally gets to experience public school and gets a quick primer on the cruel, tacit laws of popularity that divide her fellow students into tightly knit cliques. She unwittingly finds herself in the good graces of an elite group of cool students dubbed "the Plastics," but Cady soon realizes how her shallow group of new friends earned this nickname.

We previously related that, due to a tingle in her breasts, 16-year-old Karen (Amanda Seyfried) could forecast when it was going to rain. But before Karen shared that titillating information with Cady, Karen admitted, "I can put my whole fist in my mouth!” And she asked, “Wanna see?" 

Mean Girls (2004) | Karen

Later in the film, as a girls’ locker room prank, a student cut the parts of Karen’s top that covered Karen’s nipples. Surprisingly, Karen kept the top on, boldly bounced out of the locker room, and commenced a raunchy fashion trend at school. 

In the Libretto Vocal Book Mean Girls: High School Version (Revised July 2022) and on the Broadway stage, during the “Meet the Plastics” song, Karen sang that her tiny skirt barely covered her “perky” heinie. (In general, on Broadway, the Plastics wore really short skirts and\or very tight pants.)

KAREN

MY NAME IS KAREN. MY HAIR IS SHINY. 

MY TEETH ARE PERFECT. MY SKIRT IS TINY. 

IT BARELY COVERS MY PERKY HEINY.

During the Broadway musical, theatergoers learned why Karen drew the attention of potential theatergoers to her bouncing teen breasts in the trailer. It turned out that Karen's behavior was prompted by Jason whom said that he could "guess any girl's bra size" by having her "jump one time". Consequently, Karen exclaimed, "Do me!", she opened her jacket, and jumped more than one time. 

Mean Girls on Broadway | Karen

JASON W.

Hey, New Girl, you wanna see a trick? I can guess any girl's bra size. All you gotta do is jump one time-

GRETCHEN

Ew, Jason- 

KAREN

Do me!

As we mention in the introduction, theatergoers learned via Gretchen that Karen was very sexually active, because despite only being 16-years-old, Gretchen related to Cady that Karen “had sex with eleven people”.

GRETCHEN 

Are you a virgin?

CADY

What?

GRETCHEN

You don’t have to tell me. But just know that I’m very trustworthy. Karen’s had sex with eleven people and I’ve never told anyone.

Mean Girls on Broadway | Karen

During “Sexy”, Karen sang that being the “hot one” is a “full time gig”, because it takes a lot of time and energy to satisfy peoples’ desires; however, Karen confessed that it was her prerogative to be sexy. While performing “Sexy”, Karen danced licentiously on the Broadway stage in a pair of bra and panties with the panties barely covered by a sheer camisole. And at one point during “Sexy”, Karen turned around, lifted her camisole, and  revealed her panties to the audience. 

(KAREN)

WHEN YOU ARE THE HOT ONE,

IT'S' A FULL TIME GIG,

LOOKING LIKE WHAT PEOPLE WANNA SEE.

KAREN

I CAN BE WHO I WANNA BE, AND SEXY

KAREN

THIS IS MODERN FEMINISM TALKIN’:

I EXPECT TO RUN THE WORLD

IN SHOES I CANNOT WALK IN. 

I CAN BE WHO I WANT TO BE… 

AND SEX,

SEX, 

SEXY!

Interestingly, and in yet another display of Fey’s lack of naiveté as it relates to sexualized teens, Karen intentionally exposed her bra, because she was “going for a look”. However, Karen did not specify if the look was: "girl who’s slept with eleven people".

REGINA

Karen, I can see your bra.

KAREN 

It's on purpose. I'm going for a look.

REGINA

Is it "girl who’s slept with eleven people"? ‘Cause you're nailing it. 

Note that in the high school version of the libretto, Fey, ironically, offered an alternative “suggestion” for certain lines in the musical to the high school students playing high school students. For example, instead of Regina asking, “Is it "girl who’s slept with eleven people"? ‘Cause you're nailing it.” Fey suggested that a high school student could say, “If it’s ‘girl who hooked up with eleven people’ you’re nailing it,” thereby reminding theater kids that teen oral sex is less provocative than teen sex. 

In the song “Stop!”, Karen sang that when she was 13, she sent “nude pics” to a boy she had “a huge crush on”, but Karen forgot to crop the pics, which were posted on Amateurtweens. 

KAREN

STOP.

WHEN YOU HAVE A HUGE CRUSH ON A BOY

AND HE ASKS YOU TO "SEND NUDE PICS" 

AND YOU'RE LIKE, "WOW HE LIKES ME!"

AND SO YOU SEND THEM BUT DON'T CROP YOUR HEAD OFF 

'CAUSE YOU'RE ONLY 13 AND DON'T KNOW ANY BETTER

AND I GUESS HIS FRIENDS SHARED 'EM

‘CAUSE NOW YOU'RE ALL OVER A PORN SITE 

CALLED AMATEURTWEENS.

Consequently, Karen informed theatergoers, "Now I only get naked with people in person! Also someone should teach boys not to do that in the first place." (At the Broadway performance that I saw, a number of people in the audience started clapping and hooting after those lines.)

Rhetorical question: Did Fey base Karen on Danielle Miller and Gabrielle Bluestone’s New York magazine piece: "What Danielle Miller learned at Horace Mann and Rikers"? (FEB. 9, 2022) In the piece, Bluestone related:

In 2004, when Miller was in eighth grade, a boy she had a crush on dared her in an AIM message to prove she wasn’t a “prude.” She grabbed the new Sony VAIO laptop her father had given her for Christmas and propped it on the ledge of her shower stall. She disrobed, picked up the handle of a Swiffer mop, and pressed record. She made three sexual videos in all and emailed them to the boy.

The boy forwarded the clips to Miller’s best friend, who in turn sent them to two people, and soon it had reached everyone that they knew. It spread rapidly from there. 

The videos hadn’t circulated just among New York’s private-school students and their friends [...] The videos also ended up on the file-sharing programs LimeWire and Kazaa. 

Unfortunately, we may never know if Fey based Karen on Swiffer Girl.

Mean Girls (2024)

Here's the synopsis posted on Rotten Tomatoes for Mean Girls (2024):

From the comedic mind of Tina Fey comes a new twist on the modern classic, MEAN GIRLS. New student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of popular girls called "The Plastics," ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her minions Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika). However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina's ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), she finds herself prey in Regina's crosshairs. As Cady sets to take down the group's apex predator with the help of her outcast friends Janis (Auli'i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), she must learn how to stay true to herself while navigating the most cutthroat jungle of all: high school.

Mean Girls (2024) | Karen

Recall that on Broadway, after Karen exclaimed, “Do me!”, she opened her jacket, and bounced up and down in a manner that drew attention to her bouncing breasts. In the 2024 film version of Mean Girls, Karen (Avantika) performed "Sexy" during a Halloween party where she bounced up and down in a manner that drew attention to her bouncing breasts, which were partially covered by a bra; however, unlike Broadway's Karen, who performed "Sexy" in pair of panties, Karen (Avantika) performed "Sexy" in a pair of black spandex shorts.

Mean Girls (2024) | Karen

And to give moviegoers and streamers a clear view of her shorts, Karen (Avantika) bent over and lifted her camisole to reveal a letter B, a ghost, and a pumpkin (i.e., BOO) that were displayed across her derrière. 

Just like in the musical, in the 2024 film, Regina informed “Karen, I can see your bra.” Karen replied, “It’s on purpose. I’m going for a look.” And Regina asked, “Is it ‘girl who slept with 11 people’? ‘Cause you’re nailing it.” But this raises the question: Why did Fey add this salacious motif to the musical and 2024 film, because there was no apparent indication from the 2004 film that Karen was a teen nymphomaniac. On the other hand, Karen (Amanda Seyfried) did inform Cady, "I can put my whole fist in my mouth!” 

Mean Girls (2024) | Gretchen Squats

Lastly, as it relates to Karen, in the 2024 film, while Karen filmed a social media post, Gretchen, in the background, stopped typing on her phone to analyze her derriere that was wrapped tightly in a pair of black spandex shorts. Unhappy with the extent of her buttock's bulge, Gretchen proceeded to perform squats.

Unbreakable MEAN GIRLS: A Study of Tina Fey’s Portrayal of (Self) Sexualized Teens 

(Part 1 & Part 3)