Doja Cat Explains Why She Looks ‘Purposefully Ugly’ for Paparazzi Sometimes: ‘It Makes Me So Upset'
Doja Cat Explains Why She Looks ‘Purposefully Ugly’ for Paparazzi Sometimes: ‘It Makes Me So Upset'
Bailey RichardsWed, March 18, 2026 at 8:51 PM UTC
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Doja Cat for VogueCredit: Willy Vanderperre/Vogue -
Doja Cat says she sometimes dresses “purposefully ugly” for paparazzi in a new Vogue cover story
“It makes me so upset,” Doja said of not being able to step out in public like a normal person
In the same story, Doja also opened up about her private roots, need for alone time and dating life
Sometimes, Doja Cat likes to get “ugly” for the camera.
While speaking with Vogue for the magazine’s April cover story, the “Paint the Town Red” songstress, 30, revealed that she “100%” wants to be able to step out in public and shop like a non-celebrity. Rather than pay to shut down a store or tell paparazzi to “stop,” however, the star says she likes to thwart them in a more “creative” way — by making herself “ugly.”
“It makes me so upset,” Doja said of not being able to visit stores without attention. “Will I go up to somebody and be like, ‘Stop f---ing filming me,’ and cuss them out? No, I’m not going to do that.”
“I don’t want to do that,” she continued. “I think I would rather do it in a creative way.”
Doja Cat for VogueCredit: Willy Vanderperre/Vogue
Asked what she means by “creative way,” the singer-rapper explained, “Sometimes I try to look purposefully ugly.” Elaborating further, she added, “I turn it into a game.”
Elsewhere in the Vogue cover story, the “Say So” singer — who is known for her bold onstage and red carpet looks — reflected on her need for privacy and “agoraphobic” teenage roots, and revealed that “hermit”-like behavior is necessary for her to reset in between projects.
“I was agoraphobic, fully,” she recalled of her teen years, when she first began making the rap videos that became the springboard for her career. “I couldn’t leave my house.”
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And some habits die hard. The release of her latest album, Vie, which dropped in September 2025, followed a stay-at-home period, the musician explained to Vogue. She had to reset to build up inspiration for the project, which she described as “restimulating my creative bone.”
This time around, it involved returning to the Los Angeles suburbs and “being a hermit,” Doja told the magazine, adding that her “hermit” behaviors included playing video games and drinking wine. “When I’m home, I’m just home with my cat,” she said.
Doja’s friend and fellow musician, SZA, echoed the Planet Her musician’s sentiment about her desire for solitude.
Doja Cat for VogueCredit: Willy Vanderperre/Vogue
Doja also opened up about another aspect of her life in the public eye — dating — in the interview, following up on her 2023 admission to Harper’s BAZAAR that she was “possibly a serial dater.”
In the cover story, the star — who has previously been linked to actor Joseph Quinn and comedian Jeffrey “J” Cyrus — admitted that she still considers herself something of a “serial dater,” further explaining, “I’m 30, so I’m ovulating and horny.”
The rapper said she’s dating someone at the moment, but her favorite part of the relationship is “when they leave” — a new perspective that she said she's been able to gain through therapy.
“That’s what therapy has done for me. It’s allowed me to be away and be at peace without being like, ‘I need tarot cards. I need an answer. Text me,’” the musician told Vogue. “I don’t do any of that anymore. It’s very nice.”
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
