Were Andy’s boyfriend and friends the real villains of The Devil Wears Prada? For years now, there’s been a large camp of people who would say yes. Plus, now that the sequel is out on the 2026 movie schedule, it’s a debate I’ve been thinking about more and more. So, when I had the chance to interview Tracie Thoms, who plays Andy’s best friend Lily, I had to get her take on this very popular discourse.
According to Thoms, this all started “probably about 10 years ago.” She explained during an interview with CinemaBlend that articles about why people don’t like Andy’s boyfriend and friends started circulating, and since then it hasn’t really stopped:
So, the first 10 years after the movie was released, nobody said anything like that. I hadn't heard anything like that, but I think there was a stink piece that came out, like, 10 years ago. It was like, ‘the real villains of Devil Wears Prada were her friends and her boyfriend.’ I was like, ‘What?’ And it was bizarre at first. And I was like, ‘Okay, that's a theory, or that's a perspective, and, you know, they're all valid.’ But the way it caught on was interesting.
It really did catch on like wildfire, and it's persisted for years. So, with that in mind, the actress from The Devil Wears Prada cast decided to try to watch the movie (which you can do with a Disney+ subscription) with this perspective. Here is the conclusion she came to:
Article continues belowI tried to watch the movie again with that perspective. And, I mean, I guess, sure. I just think that the world has changed, you know? I mean, so I think that back in 2005 when we made the movie, we didn't have, like, safe spaces and things like that, you know? I mean, in the aughts, so many things were about snark and trying to be authentic, and not selling out was a big idea then. And those ideas aren't really a thing now, you know? Now, it's like, get your bag, do whatever you need to do. So, it's just that the world perspective has changed. So I get it in that sense.
I think she’s right; since the great 2000s movie was released, the world has changed, and people’s perspectives on work and friendship have evolved. So, from that standpoint, I can also see why so many do not love Andy’s friends.
However, Thoms explained that their actions were warranted, and it’s not like Andy was being a good friend either:
But I do think that the trope of the best friend, for example, you know, like, my job as a best friend is to keep my friend honest. And we are there to be the grounding force. We are there to be the voice of reason, and that's why that character trope exists. So the reality is that my job was to hold her accountable and to let her know that she was changing into something that she herself said she didn't like.
The actress went on to say that people have walked up to her and told her they “hated” her in the movie. When she asked “Why,” they’d bring up the fact that she took the purse from Andy. However, Thom's argument is that she really didn’t take the purse; Anne Hathaway's character gave it to her. Plus “Andy was not upholding her end of the friendship,” and she missed Nate's birthday for work.
That led the Rent star to reiterate the point that Andy “did not like that job” at Runway, and it’s important for her to have friends who “call her out sometimes.” To that point, I think she’s right. Hathaway’s character changes for the worse during her time at the magazine, and I can’t say I blame her friends for acting the way they did when she was not being a good friend to them.
This discussion ties right into a conversation Tracie Thoms had with Aline Brosh McKenna, the writer of The Devil Wears Prada and its sequel, as the 9-1-1 actress recalled:
I mean, I talked to Aline about it, our writer. And she's like, that idea was always very interesting to her, because she's like, ‘No, she needed her friends to tell her that she was veering off of her own path.’
Thoms went on to explain that it truly was the friends’ job to say “‘You’re becoming the person that you said you didn’t like.’” So, does that make them the villain? The answer is complex, and the actress does understand both sides of the argument. However, she also noted that the idea that characters like Lily are bad is “very, very, very strong,” and when she’s asked people to defend that take, “they don’t really have an answer.”
However, over the years, the debate has persisted, and it’s something she’s talked to both Rich Sommer, who played Doug, and Adrian Grenier, who played Nate, about. She brought that up as we were talking about Lily and Andy’s friendship in the sequel, saying:
I've talked to Rich Sommer, who played Doug and Adrian about it, and we just think it's so interesting, you know what I mean? And Adrian has completely embraced it, of course, which I think is fun. I mean, it's just funny. It's just really interesting, because people do tell me all the time, like ‘You are trash, you are a trash friend in the first one. Hope you're better than Andy this time.’ I’m like ‘Oh my god’ [laughs].
It must be overwhelming to get this reaction from fans, especially after so many years. However, Thoms has a very clear and level perspective on it all as well as a passionate defense of her character’s actions.
Plus, Lily proves to be a fantastic friend in The Devil Wears Prada 2, as well, which you can see in theaters right now.
