Trisha Paytas is everything you’d expect on Zoom – charming, irresistibly bubbly, and an absolute riot, even while heavily pregnant with her second child (she was actually due earlier in the week). Trish – as she refers to herself – has a knack for turning everything she touches into pop-cultural gold that gets endlessly reshared and recut. With 1.1 million followers on Instagram, 5.13 million subscribers on YouTube, and 9.4 million followers on TikTok, she’s a digital dynamo. But what exactly does Trish do? “I started as a reality TV star, then I became a musician, a mukbanger, a lifestyle blogger, and now a podcast host,” she shares with Vogue. “I basically see what’s trending and find a way to make it work for me.”
Her origins are shrouded in online lore – Can she really speed talk, and did it warrant trying for a Guinness World Record? How bad was her tanning addiction? Is she trolling us or does she really want to be a singer? – but Trish has carved out a cross-platform niche without ever needing to explain herself. Her covers of songs like “Shallow” from A Star is Born (6.1 million views) and “Burn” from Hamilton (1 million views), along with her original tracks like “I Love You Jesus” (9.4 million views) and “Freaky” (7.6 million views), have cemented her as a phenomenon. These originals, in particular, boast high-production sets and costumes crafted specifically for her (she spends a lot on these... but more on that later).
Trish’s cosplay looks, replicating some of pop culture’s most iconic moments, have garnered millions of likes and comments. She’s shared content featuring herself in outfits inspired by Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, Lily-Rose Depp in The Idol, Zac Efron in High School Musical, and Britney Spears in “I’m a Slave 4 U”. Her latest coup? A recreation of Kim Kardashian’s Maison Margiela Artisanal look for this year’s Met Gala, which caused quite a stir – even though the outfit was made entirely by Fashion Nova. That’s before mentioning the internet conspiracy theories that her first-born daughter is the reincarnation of Queen Elizabeth II (she was born shortly after the late Queen passed).
Below, I caught up with Trisha to delve into her wildly colourful past, her endlessly influential present, and what it takes to become a viral sensation.
Alex Kessler: Trish! Where did you grow up and why did you move to LA?
Trisha Paytas: I grew up between California and Illinois. I moved to LA when I was 18 to become famous like everybody else that comes here, duh. I started off by posting on MySpace to try and meet celebrities.
AK: Which celebrities were you obsessed with?
TP: It was always Quentin Tarantino. My whole MySpace page was about him, and I dedicated my first 50 YouTube videos to him. I went to all of his signing events, and if you google us, there’s a picture of me sitting on his lap. I was very Baby Reindeer about it.
AK: What were your first TV gigs?
TP: I did a lot of reality TV shows, such as Who Wants to Be a Superhero?. But I was also in Eminem’s “We Made You” as Jessica Simpson and in Amy Winehouse’s “Tears Dry on Their Own”, as well as appearing in Modern Family and Celebrity Big Brother UK.
AK: And you tried to get a Guinness World Record for speed talking?
TP: I tried twice! But I guess I wasn’t enunciating enough.
AK: You were also in an episode of My Strange Addiction… How did you overcome your tanning obsession?
TP: That was a lie. I made it up to be on the show, so it wasn’t hard to overcome.
AK: What was the moment when you realised that you were becoming an internet sensation?
TP: It was after appearing on America’s Got Talent for speed talking and rapping. I went from 5,000 to 50,000 subscribers on YouTube overnight, and then it kept growing. I started making money at that point, so I bought my first apartment and got my boobs done.
AK: Then you started creating elaborately produced videos. How much do you spend on average on these, and how much have you spent in total over the years?
TP: I was making really good money from 2015 so I would spend it all on production for movie recreation. If I had $50,000 in my account, that’s what I would spend on a video and then the amount kept going up. I never saved before 2020 really. Over the course of 10 years, I’ve spent over $12 million dollars.
AK: You’re also the queen of fashion cosplay. You recently did Kim’s moment at this year’s Met Gala, no? If you could decide, what would next year’s Met theme be?
TP: Yeah! I was so pregnant that it was really hard to pull off. Next year I think the theme should be Y2K fashion because that’s so slay right now. Or maybe pop-culture icons, so everyone can cosplay stars like Elvis Presley.
AK: Who do you love in pop culture right now?
TP: I’m always a Britney fan, but right now Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan is a favourite – I love her so much. Also Zendaya because of Challengers. Oh, and Sabrina Carpenter – I dressed up as her and my husband dressed as Barry Keoghan in Burberry. I wore the T-shirt she wore at Coachella that said: “Jesus Was a Carpenter.”
AK: Which original songs are you most proud of? Do you actually think you’re a good singer, or are you trolling us?
TP: I haven’t trolled in over a decade! My favourite songs are “Freaky” and “I Love You Jesus”. I genuinely want to become a pop star, and I hope that I get signed on Broadway every time I share a video. I spend upwards of half a million dollars a year on costumes and wigs for these, so it’s a really expensive passion.
AK: Now you have a podcast, Just Trish, too. What are you hoping to do with it?
TP: I see podcasts are really popping off right now so I wanted to hop on that. I want to be the next Wendy Williams… She’s an icon.
AK: How much time do you spend on the internet daily?
TP: About six hours a day, but I’m trying to cut down to three at the moment. It’s part of what I do, though.
AK: What do you think about claims that your daughter is the Queen of England reincarnated? Who do you think you are a reincarnation of?
TP: It was annoying at first, but now it’s just funny. I’m mother to the internet so anything can happen to me online. I’m definitely Andy Kaufman reborn.
AK: Before you dash, what advice would you give to someone who wants to go viral?
TP: Be prepared for backlash for the rest of your life. Going viral is cool because you can make a lot of money, but it’ll stick with you forever. Now I feel less traumatised by it all because I’m just collecting viral moments like Pokémons, but as a career option it can be amazing or absolutely awful – nowhere in between.