“I Want You to Diss Me a Little Bit”: Kim Petras by Meg Stalter

From styling her latest music video for “I Like Ur Look” to self-financing her third album, which she co-produced with Margo XS and the Frost Children, Kim Petras is betting on herself. The result? An epic new vision, rife with god-status writing and Y2K energy that sees the German-born pop star calling her own shots. As she tells her fellow provocateur Meg Stalter, it’s all about balancing chaos and control.

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THURSDAY 1 PM OCT. 16, 2025 LA

KIM PETRAS: Hi!

MEG STALTER: Hi! I feel really nervous. I’ve never interviewed anyone before. [Laughs] I’m starstruck.

PETRAS: Back at you. I got to interview Justin Bieber at 16 at an awards show. I was so fucking nervous. I hope this is like that for you—I’m kidding.

STALTER: I worked really hard on my questions. If there’s any question you don’t like, just go, “No!”

PETRAS: [Laughs]

STALTER: Okay, I wanted to start by saying congrats on your upcoming album, Ms. P. I just listened and I’m freaking over people hearing it. You’re co-producing it. What has that experience been like?

PETRAS: It’s been cool. I realized that I always came up with chords and stuff, and men just wouldn’t give me co-producing credits even though I really do deserve them. But it’s been fun. I’ve just been like a crazy lady on my laptop making weird sounds, so everything is more vivid and there’s more of me in it, which is cool.

STALTER: And you have full creative control?

PETRAS: I have full creative control, which is a first in my career and feels appropriate for the album and the concept of it. I had a broken foot from jumping off a stage in Louboutins, which was six months of me not being able to perform and I was just like, “Fuck this. I just want to drive to the middle of nowhere and date a pothead and throw all of this away.”

STALTER: [Laughs]

PETRAS: That was the concept of this album. I’m thinking about what I want pop music to be and not about what I think will be successful, so that’s been really freeing. Also, I’ve been working with trans girlies and that changed everything, because I feel like we really understand how we want the music to sound. Margo XS and Angel [Prost] from Frost Children were super instrumental in shaping the sound on this.

STALTER: That’s so amazing. When the album started, I got full body chills when you said, “Imma take you with me if you’re bad enough.” What makes someone bad enough for you, and do you think you would take me along?

PETRAS: Definitely. A high pony is an immediate indicator of being bad. I think a rowdiness and a downness to party is all that really matters. If you’re down to go to a dive bar in the middle of nowhere and get fucked up, that’s the vibe. I was over industry parties, and it made me so happy to be gross at warehouses and at dive bars with friends. It changed everything.

STALTER: I love it. I don’t think I really fit in at Hollywood parties, but I could be really fun at a dive bar.

PETRAS: I really want to see that.

STALTER: [Laughs] Okay, next question. Would you be in a buddy comedy with me if we were offered roles?

PETRAS: For sure. I love comedy. I feel like my existence is comedy sometimes and I’ve always just been a big troll in general.

STALTER: I could see us being Romy and Michele. I could also see you doing Oh, Mary!

PETRAS: Hell yeah.

STALTER: Okay, next question: songwriting process. Do you think of an idea and then get everyone in the studio and start clocking it down with an amazing beat, or how does it work?

PETRAS: It works differently every time. On this one, we all just met up. I would have zero idea and whatever came to my mind would just happen. But then there’s also moments where—there’s a song called “Brutalist”—my dad’s an architect and he used to drive me to my gender-affirming care meetings in Germany and show me architecture. I had that written down in my diary. So half of this album is things I really thought about and then there’s other stuff like “I Like Ur Look” where everyone came into the studio in extraordinary looks one day and then that became a song, which is so stupid, but so valid too.

STALTER: What were they wearing?

PETRAS: Margo, Angel, and Lulu [Prost] looked like rock stars or vampires. Angel was wearing a miniskirt, a polo shirt, these fringe boots, and a really Keith Richards-ass skinny scarf around her head, and she just looked dope. Lulu’s always in something studded and looks like a Final Fantasy character. And Margo’s just like a hot stripper bitch—always has under boob out, thongs sticking out of low-rise jeans. And then I was there in my fucking medical boot, so I felt like the least fab in the group.

STALTER: A medical boot could be chic.

PETRAS: Yeah. I bedazzled it for some shows. I have a lot of bedazzled medical boots if anyone wants one.

STALTER: [Laughs] Okay, my next question is, why haven’t you asked me to sing on any of the tracks?

PETRAS: I haven’t gotten to it. Maybe I was planning to ask you on this call, but now I’m not sure.

STALTER: I just feel like it’s a confident move to ask, so it should only make you want me on it more.

PETRAS: Right. I was feeling really confident to ask you. Now I’m intimidated.

STALTER: Okay, we’ll e-mail about that. Just imagine it: people would be so surprised that you picked me because I’m not a singer.

PETRAS: For sure. The surprise element is really what’s getting me.

STALTER: I’m not an amazing singer, but I feel like you could coach me and I would bring an interesting vibe.

PETRAS: I would want some heartfelt Meg Stalter moans.

STALTER: Or even at the beginning of one of your songs, I could say something like, “Oh, hello, yes, I’m coming to meet you.”

PETRAS: Yeah, like, “Hey, it’s Meg.”

STALTER: And you’re like, “Who is this?” [Laughs] Okay, next question. How does it feel to have the song of the autumn, winter, spring, and summer with “I Like Ur Look?”

PETRAS: It feels amazing. It’s really hard to achieve that, and I feel like I’m at god-status with my writing now.

STALTER: In the studio, do you get excited and you’re like, “That’s going to be the song of the summer?”

PETRAS: No. I’ve never said that. If I do, I probably did too many drugs and then I wake up the next morning and I’m like, “This is shit.” I don’t really think anything’s great when I do it. That’s a Virgo thing. I’m just like, “This is good for right now, but the next few days will show if it’s actually good.” I rely on others to be hype people.

STALTER: You’re making music that you love and you’re making it for yourself, which is what makes it so special. Also, I don’t normally condone anyone stealing anyone else’s boyfriend unless it’s you, because I think you should have every man you want. But are you worried that jealous bitches are going to be coming after you?

PETRAS: I’m not worried. It’s hard to compete. I think that snarky, [Sings] “Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend!” thing is so fun and early 2000s, and I really wanted to do that. Also, I hate shaming home-wreckers. Homewreckers keep us entertained and without them we would live very boring lives.

STALTER: I think so, too. You mentioned the early 2000s. What are some of the references you guys talked through for this album?

PETRAS: I’ve always loved Love. Angel. Music. Baby. by Gwen Stefani, and also Fergie. Why is no one putting respect on Fergie? That’s my queen. So there’s definitely some production shit in this album that’s super-inspired by that rowdy energy of the early 2000s, like Gwen, Fergie, The Pussycat Dolls. M.I.A. is also a really big one for me on this. One of my first shows I went to was M.I.A. in Cologne at a warehouse and she pointed floodlights at the crowd. Everyone was like, holding their eyes shut. And she was just coming out with her middle fingers up, and she quit the show after 20 minutes. She was like, “Fuck you!” And it was the best show of my life.

STALTER: Were the lights on the whole time?

PETRAS: Yeah. From the second she went on, blinding fucking floodlights. [Laughs] Everyone booed at the end, but then everyone left satisfied, too. I was like, “That was the coolest show I’ve ever been to.”

STALTER: Do you feel like there’s certain celebrities that might make you a little mad, but if they’re not fully canceled, it only helps them?

PETRAS: Yeah, it’s “step on my neck” culture. It’s like you want me to step on your neck a little bit and you want me to be a little like, “Fuck you!” And I, as a fan, also want that. I want you to diss me a little bit. I love you, but strangle me with your extensions, mama.

STALTER: People got mad at Chappell for being like, “I don’t always want people to come up to me.” I always thought it was really cool that she said that. People were like, “You hate your fans.” But they love it, too.

PETRAS: Yeah, I think pop stars are performative doms that are secretly subs. For me especially, I’m such a shy person in real life but then the stage unlocks this really dom-y like, “I get whatever the fuck I want” personality. My whole career is built on my fans enabling me to live out that fantasy.

STALTER: I literally have the chills. I fully feel the same when I’m onstage doing stand-up. I berate the audience. I’m making fun of people, but it feels like they want to be dommed. I’ll be like, “You can’t get up to go to the bathroom,” but I would never act like that in real life. When you perform, do you feel like you’re doing a character, or do you feel like your truest self?

PETRAS: I feel like I’m my truest self because my brain is gone when I’m onstage. I’m a huge over-analyzer, which is why my music is at the level it’s at writing-wise. When I get onstage, I can be tits out, no panties on, but in real life it’s only no panties if I really trust you and know you.

STALTER: Totally. It’s almost like meditating or something. If I have a horrible headache, onstage, I’m not in any pain. I’m not overthinking things. I’m not even remembering everything I said.

PETRAS: Yeah. I’ve had some shows where I was so deadly hungover, and they turned out to be my best shows ever. I don’t know how that works.

STALTER: There’s an adrenaline rush. It’s like the highest version of you. Okay, so I have an idea for when you perform “Freak It” onstage.

PETRAS: Okay…

STALTER: You’re singing, “No one knows where you are.” You’re up high. You’re in the ceiling. And when the beat drops, you get lowered down, but it’s not slow. It’s really fast, but you’re still hanging in the air. [Laughs] You look over to the left, and I’m doing the same thing, because I’m your guest star that night.

PETRAS: Right.

STALTER: Is that something that would interest you?

PETRAS: Let’s explore that. Are we talking like, skydiving or a bungee jump?

STALTER: We’re being lowered by strings. I like the idea of you being in the middle. I’m almost to the floor as if there was a malfunction on mine, but then I get raised back up.

PETRAS: I think that’s beautiful.

STALTER: [Laughs] Okay, this one’s really hard. Marry, fuck, kill. “Polo,” “Check It,” and “Need for Speed.”

PETRAS: Easy. Marry is “Need for Speed.” Fuck is “Polo.” And kill is “Check It” because I really was annoying as fuck on that song, and I love that I’m being so annoying. The whole song is like, “Check it, check it, check it.”

STALTER: Has there ever been a song where you’re like, “Okay, this is going to be so huge?”

PETRAS: Oof. I don’t know. When I wrote “I Don’t Want It At All,” I was like, this is my favorite because it’s about the girl that gets whatever she wants. It’s about sugar babies. With my very first batch of songs, I felt like that a lot. Then I got self-conscious because I’d seen too much of the music industry and how many songs are being released every day. I was like, “Why would anyone want to listen to little old me?” So then I just became more like, “I love this, so I’m going to put it out and I don’t have any expectations.” My measure is always, “Will I be proud of this 10 years from now?” I’ve had moments where I’ve betrayed that because people have told me, “This is going to be a huge song, just trust me.” I don’t do that anymore because those are always the songs where I’m like, “Oh man, I knew I didn’t fucking love this.” No one knows what a hit is. They might pretend they do, but all you can really go by is, “Do I love this, and am I proud of this?”

STALTER: It’s also trusting yourself. With my comedy, I don’t care what someone thinks of me because I’m doing what I think is funny. I’m just so excited for this album since you had all that creative control.

PETRAS: Thank you. Me too. It’s something I’ve really had to fight for. I had to cut everyone off, fire a bunch of people, and be like, “I’m building my own studio and I’m financing it all myself.” It’s so fucking worth it and I’m really grateful that my career and my fans have taken me to a place where I can do that. I was like, “I’m going to work with people whose shows I want to go to and who I want to go to clubs with.” Like Frost Children. I think they’re the future of music.

STALTER: It’s such a leap of faith to be betting on yourself, too. It’s not easy to cut people off, but that is such a sign of a leader and a star. Do you have a favorite song off the album?

PETRAS: “Jeep” is my favorite. It happened the day we were evacuated for the L.A. fires. I was in a session when we got evacuated, so we just packed everything up within 20 minutes and wrote that song at night when we got to the desert.

STALTER: Crazy.

PETRAS: There’s a really sweet story behind it because in Germany, in my small town, we call any kind of truck a Jeep, even if it’s not a Jeep. I was on a date with a guy and I was like, “I love your Jeep.” And he was like, “It’s not a Jeep.” He got offended. [Laughs] People are so proud of their trucks. It was an ESL vibe that I was giving, and turning that into a love song really spoke to me. On this album, I’m bringing up just feeling out of place here and just having different reference points because I’m born and raised in Germany, baby.

STALTER: When people fit in with Hollywood, I think that’s weird. So it’s cool and hot to not fit in. Also, I think guys are too into their cars. I want people to start dragging them.

PETRAS: Me too. More shaming of guys and cars.

STALTER: He sounds insecure because he would’ve thought it was endearing and hot if he wasn’t. Okay, my last question is who is your dream person to collaborate with?

PETRAS: Holy shit. You, Meg Stalter.

STALTER: I was really hoping you’d say that, but I started getting nervous because I feel like I lost my chance by bringing it up prematurely earlier.

PETRAS: Yeah, you brought it up prematurely, but you found your way back to my heart. Honestly, your freaking pitch is what did it.

STALTER: Oh really?

PETRAS: The falling fast, not slow. And at different levels.

STALTER: A fast fall is literally M.I.A. like shining the lights in our face like—

PETRAS: “Fuck you.”

STALTER: Yeah. We’re going to fall so fast you almost thought I got injured.

PETRAS: Joke’s on you, bitch. [Laughs]

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Hair: Iggy Rosales using Biolage at Forward Artists.

Makeup: Etienne Ortega using Ortega Beauty at The Only Agency.

Photography Assistant: Brighid Burnes.

Fashion Assistant: Hayley Francise.

Fashion Interns: Beckett Simpson and Eunice Kim.

Production Assistant: Ernesto Torres. 

On-set Production: Cecilia Alvarez Blackwell. 

Production Assistant: Ernesto Torres.

Special Thanks: Wendy Barnes.