King Princess Can't Stand Your Labubu

They love Call of Duty and "Gilgamesh-ian journeys" and hate JK Rowling and bars with loud music.

Welcome to mixed feelings’ Hyperspecific, a profile series of increasingly intimate questions in which we ask our favorite artists, characters, musicians, and the like to unveil their innermost selves — their weird existential musings.

“The ‘Gay Uncle’ shirt def set the vibe,” said Catherine Mhloyi, mixed feelings writer + social video producer, when I asked about the feeling on set during her interview with King Princess this past summer. I had no idea what she was talking about, but then I saw the recording: King Princess laid back in a director’s chair wearing a black rhinestoned tee with the words “GAY UNCLE” written across the chest.

Watching the interview footage for the first time, I can hear Catherine behind the camera, stifling giggles, held captive by their charm. (At least, that’s my fan fiction re-telling of the encounter.) And though I wish I could’ve been there in person, too, I maintain that it’s unhealthy to meet artists who you actually care about.

There’s a Dadaism to King Princess’ online and artistic presence that, prior to this interview, made me feel like they were from a different cool/funny-person dimension. (Exhibit A: King Princess getting hit in the face by clown tits in the music video for “RIP KP”.) But when we ask them about their low-key hell, they complain about not being able to hold a conversation over loud bar music. I can’t help but love the unexpected relatability.

If you’re already a fan like me, or are somehow just getting into their music now, please sit back and relax in your genderfuck baby tees and enjoy reading about being vers (in the context of Hogwarts houses). — Logan Tsugita

P.S. If you’re a NYC queer (or really, any good-music-loving individual), I suggest you listen to Girl Violence (out now) on the train and astral project into a state of unequivocal yearning.

LEVEL I

1. Something you’re always hoping people bring up in conversation.

Reality television. When people bring up reality television early in a conversation, I'm like, okay, I'm amongst friends. I'm watching this new season of Project Runway with Law Roach. This is brutal. It's really funny and good. Remember when Michael Kors would just destroy everyone? It's [Law] filling those shoes because Michael Kors…He could throw an insult.

2. What’s a positive trait people always tell you?

I'm told I'm funny quite a bit, and I appreciate that.

3. One destructive trait you know you possess and wish you didn’t.

Diva. Well, I don't know if I wish I didn't…I feel like I'm always acting like a diva. Even when I'm in my underwear playing PS5, my friends are still like, “Why are you being such a diva?” And I'm like, “Yeah, but I appreciate it.” I mean, they're right.

4. If a bodega were to name a dish after you, what would it be? (Be specific.)

Tuna sandwich on a hard roll with lettuce, cheese, and mustard, and it'd be called the “King Princess.”

5. One song that makes you feel understood.

I've just been singing “Messy.” The Lola Young song. I mean, I agree with the sentiment. I probably heard it on TikTok — how we all get our music now — and it is a really good song. Sometimes you hear songs and you're like, “I wish I wrote that song.”

6. Something you think is wildly underrated.

Me? I would say I'm wildly underrated. You knew I was going to say that.

[Maybe when I’m wildly overrated] it'll go from “You look like King Princess” to “What's up King Princess?” You know what I mean? I am fine being just another lesbian who looks like King Princess. That's also honestly an honor in its own right.

LEVEL II

1. A movie/tv show you watch when you want to self-soothe.

Alone. Oh, it’s [a survival show] — shit's fabulous. They drop people off in the Arctic Circle in the fall and they're like, “Survive.” They're filming themselves. You're watching their minds race and wander and they're shooting stuff, but they're also foraging and fishing and building little houses. Maybe I have a kink for The Revenant, you know what I mean? And Children of Men, that energy, that Gilgamesh-ian journey. I’d like to, in an alternate universe, be able to do that.

2. What is your problematic favorite artist, actor, dead or alive?

I guess going back, I would say Joan Rivers, I think that we need to go back and watch a lot of those jokes. They're really fucking funny. And then as far as artists, I mean, I'll always be an Azealia Banks fan.

3. What is the first fandom you lost yourself in?

Nicki Minaj. I was deep in [Nicki Minaj] Twitter in high school, just trying to figure things out. It was a guiding light. Those gay people raised me. I think I fell in love with “Roman's Revenge,” but I also loved “Itty Bitty Piggy.” I love the Beam Me Up Scotty mixtape, but I remember when “Roman Reloaded” came out, and “Roman's Revenge”…I was just like, “This is theater.” She's a theatrical genius. She's a Shakespearean actor. And she's doing a monologue, a soliloquy, if you will.

MF: Do you consider yourself a Barb?

Unfortunately, yes. You can't fuck with SZA. I mean, [Nicki] crossed the line there…SZA’s response was so brilliant. That hurt my heart a little bit. Every other fight I could get behind, pretty much every other fight she's had.

MF: Most legendary Nicki Minaj beef?

Most legendary. I mean, her verse destroying Remy Ma on “No Frauds” is pretty sinister. It is incredible. “Left the operating table, still look like ‘nah.’” I think that's pretty amazing.

4. What is something you bought recently after LOTS of research?

I've been wearing Taekwondo shoes. When I first bought this pair they were on Amazon and they were literally like 50 bucks. And now they've gone up to a hundred. They clearly know they hit the jackpot. But then I realized that on DePop and Grailed, there's a bunch of different, weird colorways. So I bought two pairs. I did a bunch of research on the sizing because the pair I bought is kind of jank, so I didn't trust the sizing. I did a lot of Taekwondo shoe research about the sizing and then bought the new colors that I wanted. They’re Adidas, but they're meant to do martial arts in, so I wanted to make sure the fit was good.

I've never done Taekwondo. I just like the shoes. I've never once done Taekwondo in my life. But in the event that there’s a brawl, I'd be nimble.

Adidas Taekwondo Shoes.

5. A fictional world you want to live in and why?

Harry Potter. I mean, fuck JK Rowling. She can suck a huge bag of dicks. And I go on record saying that. She is a horrible, horrible person. What a terrible woman.

But I just want to go to Hogwarts, man. I just want to be at Hogwarts. I think about that twice a day. I just would thrive in that academic environment. Unfortunately, I am a Slytherin. I think I'm a switch. I could be, you know what I mean? You know what Harry Potter is? He's such a vers. He can be Slytherin, but he can also be a Gryffindor. It just depends on if he wants to be evil or not. I'm kind of that. I feel like I choose evil, but I could probably do great in Gryffindor.

MF: Favorite Harry Potter character?

Probably Hagrid. He's just hot and he understands who he is.

6. Random thing in your home that always requires explanation?

Well, I made a still life. That's one of those floating bookshelves. The ones that look like there's no shelf. It's just a stack. And on top of it is a paintball mask. But I put Voldemort face prosthetic over the paintball mask. And then there's four wigs.

And I always joke, I'm going to apply to Yale with the sculpture. I also have a lot of swords. So people always ask about the swords.

There's one on my coffee table that's a Game of Thrones vibe sword. It's very sharp and people are always like, “Oh, is that a sword?” And I'm like, yes. I went to the Ren Faire. I didn't know that you couldn't bring in an actual sword. I was like, “What's the point?” So I show up and I have a full real sword, and they're like, “You cannot bring that in there.” And I was like, “I'm bringing this in.” So I got in, but then every time I walked, I was cutting myself with the sword. Now I understand why they don't want real swords. They don't want drunk idiots with real swords walking around the Renaissance Fair. But I did.

MF: Where does one get a real sword?

My friend Jack actually had it made for me…in Eastern Europe. Jack took a train and sat at this man's forge and watched him make the sword, and then he shipped it back to the States. It was one of the most incredible gifts I've ever received.

LEVEL III

1. What’s an anecdote you usually tell to describe how you were as a kid?

I’ll just describe the way I looked. Backwards hat, T-shirt, long sleeve under the T-shirt, baggy jeans, little Vans sneakers…Full little boy. But also I spent a lot of time in the woods upstate. So I was mostly by myself, just talking to myself in the woods. I was entrenched in a fantasy world as a child. I had a very active imagination. I could entertain myself for hours just pretending I was in a different universe. I also whittled a lot of Harry Potter wands as a child. I have a whittling kit. I was a whittler, so yeah, I was always with a wand.

2. What is your lowkey hell and actual heaven?

My low-key hell is a bar with loud music on. I cannot, I hate it. I've been on this tirade. I will go to the bar and say, “Please turn it down.” It's too loud. It's deafening. I can't talk. I can't hear other people's thoughts. I can't hear anything. I can't hear my own thoughts. I can't talk to people. I mean, I'm constantly in hell with the level of music that people play. It's insane. It's unsafe. I'd say my heaven is the park with my friends and my dog in New York on a hot summer day.

MF: What's your dog's name?

Raz. [Short for] Raspberry white claw.

3. What is your most unhinged coping mechanism?

I already said whittling. That's pretty fucking unhinged. I would say Call of Duty. It's unhinged. I take out my vengeance on Call of Duty to 12 year olds around the globe. I'm the villain on the mic. I am losing my mind on that microphone.

4. What is one random thing you hate so much for no apparent reason?

Labubu. I can't stand this. They're frightening looking. Everyone says they're so cute. They're horrifying. I don't understand how it's a status symbol to have something dangling from your purse, besides pepper spray. There should be nothing dangling from your purse. You know what I mean? I can't stand it. I'm like, this is so fucking ugly.

MF: How do you think this is going to be received on the internet?

I don't care. I don't care how it's received. I haven't seen a lot of gay people with Labubu’s. I have one friend, Julia, she's obsessed, and I'm like, “You've got to stop this. You're ruining your lovely purse with this hideous doll. You have a beautiful purse on. It goes with your outfit, goes with your shoes, and you've got this Furby hanging from it.”

5. How do you exit a party?

I'm good about that. I do say bye to people. I'm not an Irish goodbye-r or I would feel too guilty. I make my rounds. I say, “Bye, good to see you.” And then I leave. I like to be home before 2am. I think nothing good happens after 2am. I like to stay out late-ish and party, but after 2am I have no business being there.

6. How you wanna go (either un-seriously or seriously).

Death wise? Well, hopefully it's something fabulous. Have you seen Spinal Tap? I would love to spontaneously combust. That would be pretty cool if I just blew up on stage. The whole crowd's covered in guts, like, “Bye!” That sounds pretty cool to me. Poisoning would be interesting and probably apt. I would get fucking poisoned.