The death of rock icon Ozzy Osbourne and the birth of YouTuber Trisha Paytasโs baby is combining to ressucitate an old and deeply weird conspiracy theory: the Trisha Paytas Baby Curse.
According to legend, a celebrity death accompanies the birth of each of Paytasโs three babies. Even though it doesnโt add up โ in a lot of ways โ the theory persists, and memes abound suggesting that the recently departed musician will be reincarnated as the child of the podcaster who gained fame through viral YouTube videos.
(For the record, TODAY.com does not endorse this theory, which is clearly meant to be tongue-in-cheek.)
What? How? Why?
The theory is part of an internet meme known as the โTrisha Paytas Baby Curse,โ which links her pregnancies to the deaths, or illness, of public figures. While entirely speculative, the joke popped up when Pope Francis died while she was pregnant with her third child, who she named Aquaman.
(You read that right, Aquaman. Her two older children are Malibu Barbie and Elvis.)
During the April 22 episode of her podcast, โJust Trish,โ Paytas addressed the speculation.
โIs it just like any influential person that dies gets to come reincarnate as my baby?โ she asked. โI donโt understand why my womb is carrying all these souls.โ
Paytas birthed baby Aquaman on July 12, and announced his name on July 22, the same day Osbourne died.
Fans were quick to note the coincidence.
The internetโs tongue-in-cheek conspiracy is part of a longer-running meme tied to the YouTuberโs pregnancies.
Who Is Trisha Paytas, and Why Is She Famous?
Paytas is a YouTuber, podcaster, and media personality. She has been married to photographer Moses Hacmon since 2021.
She had a cameo on Saturday Night Live in December 2024, and made her Broadway debut in February of 2025 โ and event that started out as a joke, but then became reality.
The Trisha Paytas Baby Curse, Explained
Queen Elizabeth II
The Trisha Paytas baby curse theory first took hold on Sept. 7, 2022. At the time, Paytas was pregnant with her first child and announced on X that she was 1 centimeter dilated. The update coincided with news of Queen Elizabeth IIโs declining health and the monarchโs death one day later on Sept. 8, 2022.
โAnd Trisha Paytas is 1 cm dilatedโฆ the prophecy is being fulfilled,โ one person wrote of the timing.
When Malibu Barbie was born one week later, fans latched onto the coincidence and sparked theories that Paytasโs newborn daughter was the reincarnation of the British queen.
King Charles
Not long after Paytas announced that she was expecting her second child, King Charles III publicly revealed his cancer diagnosis. Fans quickly began to suggest that the monarchโs fate might be entangled with Paytasโ pregnancy.
Since his announcement in 2024, Charles has continued to undergo medical treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. While the king is very much alive, and not reincarnated in the form of Paytasโ child, the conspiracy theory continued to grow.
Pope Francis
The beloved pope died on April 21, 2025, and fans quickly connected his fate to Paytasโ pregnancy. While addressing the conspiracy theory that her third child will be Pope Francis reincarnated during her April 22 podcast, Paytas leaned into the meme and joked about the possibility of naming her baby Pope or Francis.
โIf itโs a boy, I guess weโre naming it Pope. Itโs not a bad name,โ she commented. โTechnically, there (are) girls named Frances too. So we could have a girl Frances; yeah, my dad is, my dadโs name is Francis.โ
Ozzy Osbourne
When the revered heavy metal musician died at age 76, fans were quick to connect the dots.
The meme may be coming to a natural end, however, as Paytas has publicly declared she does not intend to have more children.
โI feel so good about the decision,โ Paytas said on her podcast.
Rebecca Dube contributed.
