Megan Thee Stallion Talks Cheetos Partnership with Nickelback

Megan Thee Stallion continues to expand her mainstream influence on pop culture with a dynamic run that showcases both her versatility and lasting star power. Stepping onto the Broadway stage as Zidler in Moulin Rouge! The Musical at New York’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre. It’s the first time a woman has played the traditionally male role. She’s bringing her commanding presence and charisma to a new audience and further cementing her status as a multi-dimensional performer. This new endeavor signals a strategic evolution in her career, bridging hip-hop with theater in a way that reinforces her while aligning her with one of Broadway’s most celebrated shows.

What Megan has proven with her marketing prowess through high-profile brand partnerships is that she’s a hot commodity in the general market. As the newest face of Dunkin’, she brings a bold personality to the brand’s campaign. She also teamed up with Cheetos for a standout collaboration, Cheetos Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle, that pairs the snack with pickles and a song called “Pickle’s Back.”

The product pairing, which is unconventional but a frequently used combination in urban neighborhoods, is also a personal fave of Megan’s. “It was only right for the Hot Girl Coach to team up with Cheetos Flamin’ Hot to bring back the iconic Dill Pickle flavor,” she shared. “Everyone knows I love to stuff pickles with Cheetos Flamin’ Hot, so it’s really special to now be part of the campaign to relaunch one of my favorite combinations.” 

This particular match (with the outrageous video directed by Dave Meyers) also highlights a catchy track inspired by Nickelback’s iconic 2001 hit “How You Remind Me.”

“We had a blast getting to parody one of our own songs and teaming up with Megan Thee Stallion to bring it back in a totally unexpected way,” the group said in a statement. “Seeing how passionate fans are about Cheetos and this flavor made it even better. It’s bold, playful, and just plain fun! A 10/10 experience, would absolutely do it again.” 

Together, these moves (along with owning a Popeyes restaurant franchise) show Megan’s ability to seamlessly blend music, branding, and pop culture into moments that capture attention, drive conversation…plus sales.

How are you doing, Megan? Congrats on all your success.

Megan: I’m good! Thank You.

I don’t know how you’re balancing on a surfboard on all those Cheeto waves! What was it like doing all that?

It was amazing on my pickle surfboard! It was pretty insane, but [director] Dave Meyers is such an amazing director. I’ve done a lot of music videos with him, and he always likes to 
go big! I know if I’m coming to a Dave Meyers production, I’m gonna be in a harness. I’m gonna 
do some type of stuff. I knew I was gonna be doing something crazy that day, and he was like, “Well, 
you’re gonna be hanging off the back of a truck and hang on to these chains because you’re gonna 
be flying around, and then also you need to get on this pickle surfboard, and we have a trick to teach 
you. So you ready?” And I’m like, “Damn, all in this latex body suit? Yeah, come on, let’s try it! 
Let’s do it!”

You look very comfortable doing that, you’re a pro on the pickle surfboard…now about the song though. You’re still spitting, though. That’s the craziest thing. A lot of the time in Hip-Hop, when artists get with big brands, they kind of dial it back a little to reach the mass market. But you kind of went in on the flow.

Yeah, so when we came together and [they] wanted me to make this song with Nickelback, I was like damn…what can I not say? Where should I go with this? They kind of gave me free rein to do whatever I wanted. Obviously, the first couple of versions were not approved with Megan’s style, you know [laughs]? But we landed it. It was a lot of hot girl stuff going on. We got into a good space, and everybody loved it! It came out amazing because I definitely didn’t want to compromise the way I rap and the way that I deliver my bars. Just because I’m doing a song with a brand, I feel like you wanted Megan Thee Stallion, so that’s what I’m gonna give you. My fans are still going to listen to this at the end of the day. I don’t ever want to put out anything that I don’t like.

Were you familiar with the song that Nickelback did?

Yes! I was like, “What am I gonna say?” I didn’t know what the hell I was gonna say. I was a little intimidated at first because it’s such an iconic song, and I think everybody all around the world loves this song. I was like, “Dang, how can I add Hot Girl stuff to this song? When I finally got comfortable, I was like, “Oh yeah, this is easy. Let me show y’all how to do this, all right?!”

What was it like working with them? Did you get a chance to interact with the group?

When I got to set, yeah. But when making the song, we hadn’t met yet. It was kind of just sending each other [things] back and forth, the updates on the song. Once we got on set, I don’t think either one of us was expecting what we saw. I think seeing me in person is a whole ‘nother experience than just seeing me online. Meeting them in person is a different experience than seeing music videos and seeing interviews. They were super sweet, super nice. Everything was great. It was like we had already been knowing each other. It was very chill, everybody was laughing all day. I don’t know…I don’t want to tell my story until they tell the story about what happened on set. I think somebody recorded it, but it was very, very hilarious. I don’t think it’s my story to tell, but I’m excited for them to do their interviews.

Let’s talk about the actual product, Cheetos & a Dill pickle. You know, in the hood, everybody gets some chips and a pickle…was that your idea to bring that to the table?

I don’t think it was my idea to bring it to the table at all. Everybody just knows that I like that as a snack. I eat fried pickles with Flaming Hot Cheetos dust. I got Cheetos inside of pickles. If I got a sandwich, I’m loading it up with pickles, and I’m putting my Flaming Hot Cheetos on the side. I was doing that anyway. If they called somebody else through this collaboration, I would have been like, “Don’t nobody even love this like I do! This is me!” I was very appreciative. I was like, “Yes, you know who to call.”

What is it like for you now to be a franchise owner? You have a Popeyes [franchise] I believe, right?

Yes, I feel like my honest answer is…it is not what I expected. Being the owner of something and being the boss of something obviously come with a lot of responsibility. When you own your own business, you have to treat it with care. You have to treat it like it’s alive. It is alive. It’s thriving if you want it to grow. You’ve got to water it. You have to do all the things that are going to make your business amazing. At first, I was thinking, “Okay, I have a Popeyes. Popeyes is already Popeyes. It’s up and running. People are going to come eat here anyway,” but then I had to start thinking like, I don’t treat my career that way. I don’t think, oh, music is music…people are going to listen to music regardless. Everything I do around making a Stallion, I curate everything around me to make me better. Then I have to start applying those same skills to my own Popeyes. How can I make a Stallion Popeyes unique to me? What can I do for my business to make it grow and be better? Because it’s not just a Popeyes. It’s my Popeyes, my name is on it. I put my money in it. I’ve just been thinking about ways I can keep my store growing. I kind of thought it was just going to be on its own kind of thing, but no, this is serious. I love work. I love responsibility, and I’m happy to keep on learning in this space.

You got a bunch of employees, and you gotta make sure they represent your brand as well as the Popeyes brand, so I’m sure that’s a lot…

Oh yeah, everybody’s great. I do pop-ins on my staff from time to time, and they love it. I don’t know if that’s half the reason why they want to work there, but I do have some favorite crew members.

What’s your favorite thing to eat there? Are you the chicken sandwich lover or….

I am! Let me tell you, the red beans and rice at Popeyes is my favorite thing. The chicken, obviously, but me…I….okay, this is a little weird, but I like the skin on the chicken real, real bad! Especially when it’s really crunchy and crispy, and I put that inside my red beans and rice and mix it around!

Oh, you made a game-changer. The chicken skin inside of the red beans and rice. I think we got a new product! I think we got the Hot Girl Crunchy meal!

The crunchy red beans and rice…Oh my God! That’s what’s up! That’s what’s up! All right, I saw that, I saw that! 

Just cut me in…I’ll work a shift! I think the other thing to congratulate you on is your endeavors in the Hollywood world and now on Broadway. Can you speak on what’s going on for Broadway?

Right now, I’m actually about to start rehearsals. I had my first fitting today, trying on my outfit. My Zidler costume is definitely going to be something nobody’s ever seen before because Zidler has never been a female character. I think it’s going to be very great. It’s going to be a surprise, it’s going to be a shock. I met some of the fans of Moulin Rouge yesterday. They’re called the “FanFanFans.” Seeing me in person, they were like, “You know, we don’t know a lot about you, but we’re so excited to see you in the play.” I was like, “You know what? Hell, y’all about to turn into some hotties!” So, for the people who are coming to the Moulin Rouge show, they have never really gotten into making the stadium be prepared to be a full-blown Hottie.

That’s going to be so dope, and how many weeks are you doing right now?

What is it? Two months…yeah, two months.

Was there any research you did for it? I’m sure you’ve seen the movie. Have you been to the play before?

Yeah, I went, obviously. I watched the movie before, and I went to see the show, and I’m not gonna lie, at first I was a little intimidated. I was like, “What the hell?” Like before I actually saw the play I was like, “What am I gonna do? What am I gonna say?” I know I’m gonna get up there and be me, but let me see how the role is supposed to be portrayed. I think Bob the Drag Queen has been doing an amazing job, but when I saw Bob do it, I was like okay, I see your personality in there. You can make 
it your own. Now, I’m just excited to make this character my own.