The year is 2013, and Trisha Paytas just uploaded a 3-minute YouTube video about whether dogs have brains. “I was desperate for attention and views,” she exclusively tells Her Campus. Whether it was a video about endorsing Mitt Romney or showing off everything in her Givenchy purse, nothing was off limits for Paytas. “People have seen my trolling videos and they may have thought that I’m a bad person. But I feel like I was just wandering the world,” she says. “I was just very lost, and I was trying to find where I should be on the internet.”
After many years on the internet, Paytas is now proud to show her authenticity. “At 36, I’m thriving as my true self, and the internet finally sees that.”
For years, Paytas has remained a fixture in pop culture thanks to her music, vlogs, and viral mukbangs. Her “Eat With Me” videos have been a constant fan favorite, showcasing her unique ability to create a safe and relatable space for discussions around food and mental health. “It felt like a job, so I had to eat every day. But it also felt freeing,” she says. “It’s fun, and it’s also a reminder for everyone to eat and not feel guilty.”
It’s only up from here for Paytas. For New Year’s Eve this year she partnered with Doordash and Lyft to get customers free perks, and she’s starting January strong hosting her podcasts, Just Trish and No Loveline with Tana Mongeau. While Just Trish has allowed Paytas to sit down with some of her idols like Sonny Osmond and Holly Madison, No Loveline has given her the chance to help people share their stories — no matter how out there they might be. “We hear a lot of people just questioning… not just sexuality, but also just what they’re into, and what they like,” she says. “A lot of times we’re getting awful partner situations, and now we’re getting questions about people who are happy in the relationship, but trying to make it better. So it’s just a wide range of things, but we get some pretty crazy ones where they’re like dating the mom, the dad, the brother. I’m like, ‘Are these real?’”
Paytas’s online career isn’t her only focus these days. She’ll soon be heading to Broadway for her debut show, Trisha Paytas’ Big Broadway Dream — a milestone she still can’t believe is happening. “Having my own show where people come to support me — it’s surreal, to be honest,” Paytas says. “I’ve never been given opportunities like this before, and it’s really because of the fans who’ve supported me over the years, whether it’s the podcast, social media, or anything else I’ve done. It’s a new chapter in my career, and it feels really cool.”
The one-night-only performance at the St. James Theatre in New York City won’t just showcase Paytas’s Broadway ambitions — it’s also for a good cause. “All ticket sales go to charity,” she said. “It’s a community fund, so it’s for performers when there are times of crisis. I’m really excited about that because it’s my chance to do Broadway and then also give back.”
This won’t just be a Trisha show. It’ll be a true Broadway moment. “I’m just super excited that people are coming out to support and make this feel like a Broadway show,” Paytas says. “That’s the most exciting thing to me.”
But don’t worry, Paytas isn’t giving up her social media career anytime soon. In fact, she already knows where she’ll be heading when the TikTok ban goes into effect. “I guess we’re kind of defaulting back to Instagram ” she says. Still, Paytas is hoping for the best. “I don’t watch anything else but TikTok,” she says. “I’m praying, I’m manifesting, and I’m putting all the good vibes out there that it stays.”