Doja Cat Talks Life on Mars, Barefoot Plane Etiquette and ‘Tangible Ghosts’ on ‘Jennifer Hudson Show’

Doja Cat dropped by The Jennifer Hudson Show on Friday (Nov. 6) to chat up her recently released fifth album, Vie, and share the story behind the male childhood alter ego that is still a part of her life today.

But the rapper/singer also provided some super helpful tips during a rapid fire segment where she weighed in on everything from the eternal question of whether there’s life on Mars, to the proper plane footwear debate, the appropriate number of people for a group chat and the one song she could listen to forever.

First things first. She cannot tell you if there is life on Mars, and frankly, she added, neither can beloved astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. “I think that there might be life somewhere else in the universe,” she said of her thoughts on humanity’s eternal question about our place in the cosmos.

“But … Mars? If it’s anything it’s like microbes,” she said, casually mentioning that the red planet has something called “water bears,” aka Tardigrades, extremely hardy microscopic animals that scientists think could possibly survive Mars’ harsh climate under certain conditions. When Doja mentioned to Hudson that these creatures have already visited Earth, the show’s host was visibly creeped out.

Doja was less certain when Hudson asked if it’s okay to take your shoes off on a plane. “It depends on where you are,” Doja said. “And what your vibe is. If you have no socks on? No!”

And in case you were wondering, Doja thinks 20 people on a group chat is too much, as is 15, but 12 is just about right.

The “Paint the Town Red” star was also adamant that she doesn’t believe in ghosts and, if she’s being honest, does not care for them. “I’m not afraid [of ghosts]. I don’t like the idea of ghosts, like the way that Hollywood has formed ghosts as, like, a thing,” she explained. “Every scary movie that’s about ghosts is the same exact movie … Like, ‘Oh! There was something? No, there wasn’t.'”

When Hudson asked what Doja would like ghosts to do instead, she said firmly, “Be tangible. Like be materialized. If I can punch you that’s scary because then that means you can punch me back!”

The final lighting round query asked if she could play one song for the rest of her life — her own, or someone else’s — what would it be? She chose her new empowering Vie track “One More Time,” because she said when she sings it the vocal position feels more tailored to her voice and on-point than any other song she’s ever recorded.

Elsewhere in the interview, Doja revealed how her fourth grade alter ego, Michael, helped shape her sensibility as an artist. She said that at that time, she wanted to be a boy and she’d show up to school in “boy garb,” consisting of Dickies pants, an oversized T-shirt, sneakers and a hat. “The teachers respected it for two weeks and then I was like, ‘I don’t want to be Michael anymore!'”

And while her mode of Michael dress is in the past, Doja said he’s still deep in her spirit, even popping up on her TikTok feed from time-to-time.

The singer also talked about the deeply personal vibe of Vie, which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 last month. She said the collection was inspired by love, as her work often is. “I’m always talking about relationships, but with this album I wanted to touch on the more visceral parts of relationships, the hardships of it,” she said, including being jealous, which is something she is capable of, but doesn’t think is healthy for a relationship.