If you haven’t yet experienced the heartbreak and rage that swept the Internet at the news of Lacey Chabert’s sister’s death, you can still watch the web outrage as playwright Brook Lawrence’s post on her Instagram account went viral, directly inciting Lacey Chabert to release a statement about her loss. Lawrence expressed grief over the loss of her longtime friend Sara Chabert, saying that Lacey Chabert called her immediately after they saw the social media litigator’s post. “I received a message from her just this morning,” Lawrence told PEOPLE. “It was her way of saying, ‘I’m really sorry, I couldn’t get through to you last night.’ I know that she [Kaitlin] was a very close friend of hers. So I think that having a connection with your friends like that is incredibly important.”
Sara Chabert died Friday at the age of 47 from cancer. She was also an actress; most famous for her role as the delightfully annoying Sammie Jo in “Mean Girls,” she was one of the original three Baywatch Bayside girls, Mel/Baby, and to a lesser extent, Summer.
Bayside fans are still upset about the expiration of the ladies’ time on the beach, especially because Mel/Baby and Summer died far too young. Tara Reid has come forward to defend Mel/Baby’s role in Baywatch, and the hit series fans have watched since 2001: Stephanie Holden for one, Toni Collette for another. But the worry is that the lack of a central character from the Sammie Jo heartthrob is a core reason for the lack of a “heartthrob” in the sequel, “Baywatch.” I don’t care how cool Stephanie Holden looks in those red swimsuits, and I didn’t tune in to “Baywatch” for her weird baby version of Summer. And that’s the problem with a sequel that promises to be “more intense,” “more sexy,” and “more action packed” (because “Sex & the City” failed to meet those goals, apparently) but barely tweaks the formula while adding a tiny superficial cosmetic change. (By that, I mean that in theory, turning over 80 percent of the cast from the original to a new bunch was a good idea, but since these were going to be women and girls, a lack of ability to actual “rock that” is a problem).
As the news of Sara Chabert’s death spread, Twitter users continued to highlight the tragedy and anger at her passing, from angry fan reactions to messages from people on display at fancy fundraisers about how much they valued their “journey” and the courage they’ve experienced. “Omg im really shocked about @kaitlinchabert lost her sister 2 days ago, i just texted her! My heart is broken for her. Great friends and family,” tweeted Chabert’s “Mean Girls” costar Lacey Chabert. (This is exactly what you don’t want to hear from an actor; in fact, you don’t want to hear this much at all, as the death of a loved one is a shattering event that shouldn’t make you sad about something you feel strongly about anyway.)