6. When Paramount delivered bad girls at the MPAA for the ratings board, they tried to slap the teen comedy with an R rating, if you can believe that. And the studio had to scramble to make sure the film's intended audience could get out and see it.
“Even in the PG-13 movie, we had to take a lot out,” Fey said variety in 2018. “I remember thinking, if this was a movie about an all-boys school, 'Did you get the cherry?' it shouldn't come out.” That line was replaced by the much tamer “Is your muffin buttered?” It wasn't all a concession on the part of the filmmakers, though.
“The line in the sand that I drew was the wide vagina joke,” Waters told Vulture. “The ratings board said, 'We can't give you a PG-13 unless you cut that line.'” We ended up playing the card that the ratings board was sexist, because presenter it just came out, and Ron Burgundy got an erection in one scene, and that was PG-13. We told them, “You're only saying that because she's a girl and she's talking about a part of her anatomy.” There is no sexual context, and to say that this is restrictive for an audience of girls is degrading to all women.” And eventually they had to back down.”
