Mexican Pizza

Dolly Parton Says Working With Doja Cat On Their Taco Bell Musical Was ‘Almost As Good As Mexican Pizza’

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dolly parton doja cat mexican pizza musical
Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

We’ve long known that Taco Bell is making a musical about the recently returned fan-favorite menu item, Mexican Pizza, with Dolly Parton and Doja Cat. It’s all very extremely silly but it’s also not a joke; Mexican Pizza: The Musical will premiere on TikTok(!) on September 15, depicting the “‘harrowing’ story of those who fought to bring back the Mexican Pizza.” Now, we know a little bit more about the upcoming — play? Ad? Short film? Music video? Elaborate troll? — courtesy of Consequence and Dolly Parton herself, who offered a statement on working with Doja Cat and Taco Bell.

@tacobell

#MexicanPizzaTheMusical is really happening! Tune in LIVE on TikTok 5/26.

♬ original sound – tacobell

“What a fun time and what a fun idea to be part of the Mexican Pizza musical,” she said. “It was a joy working with Doja Cat, [the musical’s writers] [Abigail] Barlow and [Emily] Bear, and Victor [Kunda, a TikToker who apparently helped choreograph the musical]. Very cool. I would say it was ALMOST as good as a Mexican Pizza!”

Initially billed for a May premiere, the project was pushed back to September and an entire third act was added. The premiere will coincide with the return of the Mexican pizza to Taco Bell menus — which Doja Cat began pushing for in 2021 and finally accomplished earlier this year — and will be a Postmates/Uber Eats exclusive until September 21. Customers who make a minimum $20 order on those apps can get a free pizza, and that deal will extend to Grubhub from the 23rd to the 25th. Mexican Pizza: The Musical will premiere on Taco Bell’s TikTok on 9/15 at 8 pm ET / 5 pm PT.

Doja Cat Uses Her Song Placement In A Taco Bell Ad To Campaign For The Return Of Mexican Pizza

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doja cat taco bell mexican pizza
Getty Image/Ralph Ordaz

Doja Cat, who had a huge year with the release of her third album Planet Her, is trying to leverage her influence to bring back a beloved fast-food menu item: Taco Bell’s discontinued Mexican pizza. Last year, Taco Bell cut the menu favorite in an effort to streamline its gargantuan selection (and save over 7 million pounds of paperboard in the process). The move was met with general outcry on social media as fans mourned the loss of the topping-stacked tortilla in a box.

At the time, Doja Cat was one of those who lamented the pizza getting axed, “asking nicely” for the fast-food giant to reconsider. However, in the past year, Doja has apparently accumulated some goodwill at Taco Bell corporate — or, at least, at Taco Bell’s ad agency — landing her song “Get Into It (Yuh)” on the company’s new commercial for its Double Steak Grilled Cheese Burrito. In the ad, a geeky cosplayer (SAGA!!) appears to have met their match, until the infamous Taco Bell sound effect prompts a late-night snack run instead (surely, they could have done both, but I digress).

Doja, seizing the opportunity, tweeted, “Hey @tacobell, just heard my song in your commercial… I’m a #TacoBellPartner now. So where’s my Mexican Pizza?”

When a fan answered, prompting her to speak to Taco Bell’s “Chief Impact Officer,” who is a friend of Doja’s — it’s Lil Nas X, by the way — the Taco Bell account responded in typical personified corporate account fashion: with a the three-emoji string of eye-mouth-eye, implying… well, there are a lot of potential definitions, but in this case, it seems to be a sanguine interest in the topic being discussed.

Of course, that only opened the door for more of Doja’s meme-ready shenanigans, as she hit Taco Bell with that infamous three-letter acronym, “WYD?” When the response turned out to not be “rolling out those delicious Mexican pizzas,” though, she dismissed her new playmate, telling them to “STFU” until further notice.

Could this be the beginning of the return of the Mexican Pizza menu item? Wouldn’t it be a weird way to begin the rollout? And isn’t “weird” pretty much Doja’s (and Lil Nas X’s) whole brand? And how does Rico Nasty — Doja’s good friend who occasionally goes by the alter ego “Tacobella” — figure into all of this (they’ve swapped profile pics for the past week or so)? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out. Fingers crossed for a “limited-time” sort of deal, a la Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hottie Sauce” collab with Popeyes.