[image]
[title]For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a scholar of Trisha Paytas. Growing up on the cusp of two generations shaped in different but equal ways by the Internet, she became the blueprint for the type of Internet celebritydom everyone I knew was striving for: Being famous for being famous.
I first learned about Paytas when I watched a viral clip of her reciting an excerpt from Hamlet in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for being the world’s fastest talker (she failed). Then she appeared on a TLC episode of My Strange Addiction, where she claimed to be addicted to tanning (“If you told me I had skin cancer… I would just scrape it off,” she infamously told a news anchor). She starred in Eminem’s “We Made You” music video and uploaded 7 Eleven muckbangs she filmed from her car, many of which have millions of views on YouTube. At one point, she came out as a non-binary drag queen, and released a Christian pop song called “I Love You Jesus.” She had a successful podcast called Frenemies that took off during the pandemic, and is now about to star in her own Broadway production, Trisha Paytas’ Big Broadway Dream. Her repertoire is an amalgamation of nonsensical statements and niche accomplishments strung together to create one impossibly complicated and captivating person.
And then, of course, there are the cancellations—lots of them. It turns out that saying everything that’s on your mind can make people angry, including working moms, queer people, Shane Dawson fans, Asian people, the Black community, and others.
What distinguishes Paytas’ cancellations from that of most others is that they’re baked into her lore—There is no Trisha Paytas without shock value. Her randomness is an uncomfortable reminder that we actually all have as much free will as she does, but most of us are too concerned about being liked to fully exercise it.
But even Paytas can get tired of stirring the pot all the time: She’s ready to enter a new era and step away from her blatantly offensive online persona. She has children now, which has changed her perspective on pretty much everything, especially Internet fame. “I had to be a better person when my first daughter was born in 2022,” Paytas tells Time Out. “I couldn't embarrass her or let her down.”
Her life completely changed last year when Kobi Kassal, the Editor-in-Chief of Theatrely, published a fake April Fools article announcing that Paytas had been cast to play Roxie Hart in Chicago. After that was published, Kassal turned off his phone to watch a play, and when he turned his phone back on at intermission, he had dozens of notifications. Trisha had reposted the parody article on all her social platforms, and it went viral. “It crashed my site because so many people were reading,” Kassal tells Time Out. There was so much buzz around the article that he got a call from a producer, George Strus, who asked if he would be interested in co-producing an actual Broadway show starring Trisha Paytas.
The resulting play is a one-night only production called “Trisha Paytas’ Big Broadway Dream,” and it’s happening tonight at the famed St. James Theater. The play will feature an incredible cast of Broadway stars, including Sutton Foster, Ben Platt, Rachel Zegler, Joy Woods and surprise guests. Although tickets are sold out, the entire thing will be live streamed on StagePilot, so all Paytas fans can watch. The finished product will be epic, but the producers don’t want to give too much away. ”I will say we give a lot of love to Chicago,” Kassal tells Time Out.
Trisha has survived every controversy thrown her way, and came out the other side a Broadway star. The same culture that has tried to end her also refuses to stop giving her a platform. Maybe we have to admit that there are certain things you can get away with in our culture, as long as you’re entertaining enough: The only thing Americans seem to enjoy more than playing moral police is watching a damn good show.
And so the many Internet versions of Trisha Patyas—from the tanning enthusiast to the Celebrity Big Brother contestant—will continue to live on everywhere, all the time, all at once. But if she can’t hone in the previous selves that are already out there, she can decide who her future selves might be: A good mother, for example, and after tonight, a Broadway star. However you feel about the many Trisha Paytases floating in the multiverse, you can’t deny that she’s gotten much further than any of us imagined—and she did it while breaking all the rules.
We sat down with Paytas ahead of her Broadway debut to ask her about her fans, controversies, and what's next for her.
Why is now the right time for you to get into Broadway?
I truly have made all my dreams come true. I am happy, I am mentally stable, I have the family I've always dreamed of. And I think, in turn, I wanted to do this for me. Of course, none of it would even be possible without the fans wanting to see this. I'm at the best stage of my career and its the first time I've ever been authentically me. The power of the people have led me to Broadway, and I really want to show them how hard I've been working.
What can people expect for tonight's performance?
Big musical numbers. When I tell you, on day one of rehearsals, I was bawling my eyes out. The opening and finale numbers are original and I truly think they are Tony Award worthy. The ensemble brought me to tears. We also have four broadway legends, that I still can't wrap my head around. It feels like a dream. One thing is for sure: it's giving production. Nothing like anyone has ever seen me do before.
What excites you about this next era in Trisha Paytas’ evolution? How would you describe this current era?
Peace. This is my era of peace. Rolling with punches, basking in the happiness. Being present. I've always worried about the future or was regretful of my past and now I'm just present. It's all I can be. Present for myself, my kids, and my followers.
Why do you think you’ve built a fanbase that supports you no matter what you do, even when it might feel random?
Authenticity. For the longest time, I was trying to be anyone but myself. I was trying anything and everything for fans, attention, views. I think this is is the first time I am being myself. I often call it my "boring" era, but i've never been embraced more and it's giving me the courage to keep being myself. No crazy antics, or pretending, just me...and a few cosplay wigs now and then.
People have referred to you as ‘problematic’ in the past. Why do you think you survived ‘cancel culture’ when so many others have not?
Cancellation is rough, but I always took it as a learning experience. The internet was trying to help me be a better person but I couldn't see it. It took years to self reflect and take constructive criticism as that and not be so defensive. Even to this day, I am always listening to my audience. What I can do better, where my views could be misled, etcetera. That's the beautiful thing about social media is helping each other grow.
I think deep down, people want people to be better. People are so willing to forgive, if you're willing to listen. I suffered a lot with my mental illness, addiction, need for attention, sadness, depression, spiraling—it was ugly to put out there at the time, and very scary to be judged upon—but I'm happy to show that change is possible and a happily ever after is possible even if you don't think it is. Everyone deserves it and everyone can achieve it.
Who is your favorite non-binary icon?
Sam Smith! They were the first one to describe how I felt "after a lifetime of being at war with my gender, I've decided to embrace myself for who I am". They have never thrived more and I was so inpsired. It finally clicked, all the thoughts I've struggled with—this was such a moment of clarity.
