Lindsay Lohan’s 2020 Comeback Is Exactly What We Need Right Now

The chaotic energy of 2020 is about to turn up on a notch with the return of the one and only Lindsay Lohan. Yes, the 33-year-old is back, it’s official. There’s a tweet and everything.

On Tuesday, March 31, Lohan posted a teaser video featuring TV sets playing video montages of news reports, red carpets and viral videos about her from the last few years. It ends with her saying in voiceover, ‘I’m back,’ and for a lot of millennials out there it’s been a long time coming.

We grew up with Lindsay. She was our onscreen best friend that kept us entertained throughout our childhood and teen years. We learned the twin handshake from The Parent Trap, we rocked black eyeliner and chokers to be like her in Freaky Friday and some of us definitely still have Drama Queen (That Girl) in our music libraries.

The year that that track was released was 2004, when Lohan’s star power was at its peak. As well as appearing in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and releasing her Platinum-selling, debut studio album Speak, she also starred in one of the most iconic high school comedies ever made: Mean Girls. That film cemented Cady Heron and the Plastics' place in cinematic history and Lohan moved away from playing the Disneyfied roles that had for so long defined her work. Mean Girls was edgy, not Heathers edgy, but sharply witty and in touch with teen girl culture and behaviours of the 21st Century.

However, the success of Mean Girls proved to be a double-edged sword for the starlet, whose newfound, mainstream fame soon made her target for the paparazzi. It’s especially hard for female child stars to transition to adult performers because their every action is scrutinised more harshly than their male counterparts. And so began the tabloid focus on her every move, with stories about her partying, drug use and dating life getting more attention than the well-received performances she delivered in indie movies like Bobby, A Prairie Home Companion and Georgia Rule.

The latter film was released in 2007 and that’s when her troubles really began. She was publicly rebuked by the producer after its release and within the space of two weeks, was arrested twice for drink and drug-related offences. This led to her being dropped from projects left, right and centre and by 2010 she was back in jail for 14 days for failing to adhere to mandatory court appearances.

Lohan is not the first Disney star to have fallen off the straight and narrow during their late teens and early twenties. There is so much pressure on these kids to maintain a bubblegum image that by the time they are legally able to drink and go out (and have the money to do so) it’s no wonder they want to rebel. But while our youthful mistakes take place in private, Lohan’s were plastered across every gossip site and we all had an opinion about it.

Ten years ago, there was rarely any backlash to many tabloids trashing women - and this young star was a prime target.

Every time Lohan tried to find success again through fashion, reality shows, documentary series and film, her comebacks were measured against her failures and if they didn't stick then there was even more material to criticise her with.

Maybe that’s what her teaser video is hinting at. That she’s been looking back on the tabloid stories and salacious headlines that have overshadowed her career and this time, this comeback, will address the chaos through her new music.

It’s certainly a resonant time to do so. The world is in crisis and Lindsay Lohan has been through more than her fair share. Let’s see if her new album can help us through this one.

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