It’s no secret that drag superstar Katya is absolutely obsessed with The Substance. Ever since seeing it in September, she’s been promoting the body horror hit nonstop on social media and on her podcast with Trixie Mattel, The Bald and The Beautiful.
But as one perceptive fan pointed out, Katya’s actually had The Substance on her mind for much longer than the movie’s been out in the world. In fact, she had the film’s concept in her head even before writer-director Coralie Fargeat started work on the screenplay, and a seven-year-old episode of Katya’s webseries UNHhhh proves it.
For the uninitiated, The Substance follows aging Hollywood star Elisabeth Sparkle (played by the now Oscar-nominated Demi Moore), who takes the titular substance to create a younger, “better” version of herself. The new version, played by Margaret Qualley, emerges fully formed from Elisabeth’s back, splitting her open.
Now, back to Katya. In the 58th episode of UNHhhh, titled “Death,” which was released on YouTube in August of 2017, Katya told co-host Mattel about what she hopes will happen to her body after she dies.
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“You know what I wish would happen? I wish this would happen so bad,” Katya said. “I wish that I would be laid on the slab for third-year medical students, and then they would make a long incision on my torso, and then a smaller version of an adult me would just get out of the body and walk away. Wouldn’t that be great?”
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“You just cannot judge a book by its cover.”
Sound familiar? Indeed, Katya’s fantasy is eerily similar to the plot of The Substance, despite being dreamed up seven years before the movie would release in September of 2024. One fan, @advocatedaniel1986 on TikTok, pointed out the similarities in a video, where folks in the comments connected the dots on Katya’s affinity for The Substance.
“Her obsession with the film makes 1000% more sense now,” one commenter wrote.
“not a prediction, a writer’s credit 💅,” joked another.
“OH SHE NEEDS TO SEE THIS!!!!” demanded a third.
Until she does, we’ll continue reveling in Katya’s love for the movie (and the movie’s love for Katya, expressed in one “thank you” post on social media).
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