Gabby Miller | Head Editor
October 22, 2025
Last Friday it was announced that media meme and influencer Trisha Paytas will be joining Broadway’s Beetlejuice as Maxine Dean from November 4th through the 23rd. This announcement has sparked lots of controversy as the public has begun to argue that Paytas does not have any “qualifications” to be on Broadway.
Paytas started her career in 2007, when she registered her YouTube channel (@blndsundoll4mj) which has now grown to have 5.15 million subscribers. Appearing on My Strange Addiction, Guinness World Records Unleashed, The Greg Behrendt Show, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Paytas has made quite the name for herself. However, in many of these instances, she has been laughed at rather than praised for her talents, especially after failing to break the Guinness World Record for the fastest talker.
Paytas is very well known for the cheesy music videos she produces. These include music videos to “Bet on It” from Disney’s High School Musical 2, “Say My Name” from BeetleJuice (which is definitely worth the whole 3 minutes and 57 seconds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBmbrfEchyU), and many original songs, including, “Fat Chicks,” both “I love you Jesus,” and “I love you Moses,” and, “Van Gogh,” which she later revealed on an episode of The Cancelled Podcast, hosted by Tana Mongeau and Brooke Schofield to have cost her a whopping, $250,000.
Paytas is also very well known for her mukbang and ASMR videos where she films herself having real conversations, oftentimes making no sense and being clipped and turned into memes. One of the very popular quotes from her videos is, “The waffle fries are really good…they almost taste like a potato.”
Paytas is also a mother to three children, Malibu Barbie Paytas-Hacmon, Elvis Paytas-Hacmon, and Aquaman Moses Paytas-Hacmon. Each child has a rather unique name that the public has found strange and made fun of. Additionally, with the birth of her children, a conspiracy theory regarding reincarnation has come about. Her firstborn daughter, Malibu Barbie, was born shortly after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, her middle child, Elvis, was born after Pope Francis was announced dead, and Aquaman Moses was born briefly before the death of Ozzy Osbourne. Before the birth of her two younger children and after the birth of Malibu Barbie, the media began to joke, questioning who would be the next victim to die.
With all of this being said, Paytas is known as a meme, and with her 5.15 million subscribers on YouTube and 10.9 million followers on TikTok, she is a great person to send to Broadway, with the goal of increasing ticket sales. However, Broadway is something very sought after, and many people dedicate their lives and savings just with the hopes of possibly becoming a Broadway star one day, and the musical theater community has found it very hurtful and insensitive for someone or rather some meme like Paytas to join Broadway.
SCHS daytime Drama and Choir teacher, Ella Wyatt pointed out that “Paytas has basically become famous for being a personality, NOT being talented. People are making fun of her.” Instead of typical Broadway stars that are praised for their talents, Paytas is a mockery and many are concerned that she will take away focus on the actors and actresses that have worked very hard to be a part of Beetlejuice. Additionally, Wyatt added, “There are so many incredibly talented people who have dedicated a lot of time and money training for a career in theatre, and to see this type of casting feels like a slap in the face to those people.” Wyatt makes an amazing point as Paytas is not only taking away an opportunity for someone to be on Broadway, but also the money she is getting paid. Someone who can easily drop $250,000 on a music video does not need the job over a struggling post-college student barely making enough money to pay their rent and afford private lessons.
Senior Avery Santore, who is currently in the process of auditioning for colleges to major in musical theater argued that the whole situation is “stupid” and makes her, and many others question, “why go to school for theater, and why even try?” It is extremely infuriating to see celebrities be handed things that so many people work hard for, especially when they are not the only ones capable of doing it. Paytas’ singing is not necessarily the best and many people argue she is nowhere close to Broadway talent. However, Wyatt did admit that “the bright side is the part is kind of a silly character that suits her personality.”
Paytas was surely not the best option for this role, and it is certainly frustrating to see celebrities/influences handed things they do not deserve simply because of their social status. Yet, when Charli D’Amelio joined Broadway’s & Juliet, many musical theater fans were excited to see her perform because though she is a celebrity, D’Amelio is a very talented dancer that has proven herself to be an amazing Broadway star. The frustration regarding this situation is not about Paytas being a celebrity, it is about her being a celebrity not worthy of being on Broadway.
Do you think Trishia Paytas is fit to be a Broadway star as Maxine dean in Beetlejuice?
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