For generations of audiences, Mean Girls is that quintessential movie about the high school experience. The social hierarchy, the rumors, it’s covered in a little movie that tells you to be true to yourself. The film became a cult classic, earned itself a sequel, a musical, and a movie based on said musical that is currently in the works! But according to Entertainment Weekly there’s one person who doesn’t find all that “so fetch,” and that is Rosalind Wiseman.

For those out of the loop, Wiseman penned the book Queen Bees and Wannabes, which was the basis for Mean Girls. The book was written for parents to try and understand how the world of teen girls really is like. When Paramount came forward with a contract in 2002, Wiseman signed away, selling her film rights for $400,000. The contract included net profits, residual gains that depended on the film’s box office success. But according to Wiseman, Paramount claims no such net profits came in, therefore no profit to share with her as the author. After so many years, Wiseman finally worked up the nerve to call Paramount’s bluff. The author spoke about the experience with The New York Post.

“For so long I was so quiet about it, so, so quiet, but I just feel like the hypocrisy is too much. I think it’s fair for me to be able to get compensated in some way for the work that has changed our culture and changed the zeitgeist. Over the years Tina’s spoken so eloquently about women supporting other women, but it’s gotten increasingly clear to me that, in my own personal experience, that’s not going to be the experience. You don’t just talk about supporting women, you actually do it.”

Tina Fey is not going to come off scot-free in this mess either. It was Fey who first spoke with Wiseman about signing over the book’s film rights. According to Wiseman, Fey treated the experience as a ‘we’re doing this together’ kind of experience. This was what convinced the author to pick Fey (and Paramount) over competing film offers.

Mean Girls On And Off Screen

Mean Girls premiered in April 2004, starring Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, and Amanda Seyfried. With a budget of $17 million, the film earned $24.4 million in its opening weekend, a surprise hit at the time! When the film closed in September,it grossed $86.1 million domestically and $43 million internationally. Audiences and critics alike had positive things to say about the movie. The movie became a stand-out in pop culture, with a long legacy on social media. But according to Wiseman, that success wasn’t enough to give the author her fair share.

Wiseman also brought up another incident where a theater producer reached out to her in hopes of making a Mean Girls musical. Wiseman’s agent reached out to Paramount and Fey, requesting that the project go forward, but was declined. Now the author is claiming that Paramount denied the musical in order to prevent her from being paid, citing the contract which says she has no ownership of the rights.

“What’s hard is that they used my name in the Playbill. And Tina, in her interviews, said I was the inspiration and the source, but there was no payment.”

How Wiseman Plans To Stand Up

Wiseman and her lawyers are calling for an audit of Paramount’s books regarding the profits of Mean Girls. Her attorney, Ryan Keech, commented to the Post.

“I suspect most people would be shocked at how shabbily Rosalind Wiseman has been treated. And properly so. It is nothing short of shameful for a company with the resources of Paramount to go to the lengths to which it has gone to deny Ms. Wiseman what she is fairly entitled to for having created what has become one of the most iconic entertainment franchises of the last 25 years.”

When it was announced that a film adaptation of the musical was in the works, Wiseman stated that Fey did not reach out to her about the project. While Fey and Tim Meadows are set to reprise their roles, the mean girls themselves backed down from making cameo appearances after a “disrespectful” offer. Wiseman commented on the situation.

“When I read about the actresses supporting each other, I really thought ‘that’s what this movie is about. They knew they were stronger together than apart.”