Poppy (character)

You are reading the page dedicated to the character. You may have been wanting to read about Poppy herself.

Poppy
Name	Poppy
Birth date	January 1st, 2001
First appearance	Poppy Eats Cotton Candy
Latest appearance	Is It Working? (Poppy VR 180 Experience) (tentative)
Related characters	Charlotte Plant Skeleton
Portrayed by	Poppy

Poppy was a character and persona portrayed by Poppy in her YouTube videos.

Context

Poppy is a fictional character predominantly featured on the video-sharing website YouTube portrayed by Moriah Pereira. Since 2014, Pereira has consistently used the Poppy character on YouTube and at live events, which has gained the attention of the public. Currently, the Poppy character is limited to only YouTube videos, while Pereira, under the musical stage name Poppy, is herself. The description of her video titled "Happy Birthday to Poppy" had previously revealed her birthday as January 1^st, 2001. However, this is assumed to be the "creation date" of the Poppy character, with Pereira herself being six years older.

The Poppy YouTube channel was created on October 6^th, 2011, which originally contained original songs and covers that were most made private and some deleted in August 2013. In late 2014, she started working under the direction of Titanic Sinclair, completely erased her old content and reinvented herself, thus beginning the "Poppy project".

Poppy and Sinclair's first video was uploaded on November 4^th, 2014, titled "Poppy Eats Cotton Candy", which only shows Poppy eating cotton candy. The video was shot in Sinclair's living room with no budget and was originally going to be a one-off video. The most popular Poppy video is "I'm Poppy.", which shows a 30-second clip of Poppy saying "I'm Poppy" looped for 10 minutes and has roughly 30 million views on YouTube.

Appearance and traits

Poppy represents the media and its speculation on whether or not a celebrity is a member of a cult such as the Illuminati. The project was meant to satirize pop culture and the media itself. Poppy is portrayed as a young-looking teenager; she shows innocence and ignorance towards the "outside world" throughout her videos. She usually sports her trademark arm-length bleach-blonde hair and typically wears clothing related to modern Japanese culture and Harajuku fashion. Her voice is often soft and high-pitched. In her videos, Poppy is usually shown standing still with little expression on her face, rarely blinking. Poppy's current actions are done in more of a "robotic" manner, with the aesthetic of her discography and videos being more internet and technology-oriented.

Canonically, the character of Poppy is intended to represent an android. In an interview with Titanic Sinclair for Dom's Sketch Cast, Sinclair was asked how much he looks forward to seeing more humanlike androids. He responded by saying "I already know one", referring to Poppy. He further described her as a "very humanlike being who one day approached me and I decided to document her". Poppy herself revealed that the inspiration for the character partly came from her interest in the Myers-Briggs personality test, and is "directly linked to how [she] was when [she] was untouched by the world, the most innocent way of thinking".

Life

Creation and beginnings (2001-2015)

Her creation date was on January 1^st, 2001, most information about her since the years 2001 to 2014 is unknown however the earliest memory she has is waking up in the factory, which is likely the one mentioned and that can be seen in "Time Is Up", as well other exact memory is from November 4^th, 2014 in the video "Poppy Eats Cotton Candy" which one of the earliest memories she has. Since her 2014 to early 2015 videos she seemed having a human-like attitude, however in early 2016 the uploaded videos to her YouTube channel led to robotic behavior. Her 2015 videos consisted of her talking about her life, satiric tutorials, her introducing products or her in specific situations. In the music video for "Lowlife" she seems to be presented to 'They' as she seems to not like them as by the end of the video she can be seen pushing them away, it is unknown if this must had consequences or not. As Poppy's videos passed by she seemed to have less control in what she said or even think, likely as the work of They. Her videos consisted of Poppy talking in front of the camera with the background's color changing depending the video, using different variations of the colors white, blue, yellow, purple, pink and in one occasion black ("Black T-shirt").

Change (2016)

After the release of Poppy's debut EP Bubblebath in 2016, she released the video "Ask Poppy a Question" in which she answered questions made by her fans on Twitter, when somebody asks why is her EP titled "Bubblebath" she answers in third person by saying that "Poppy thinks the world is very dirty and could benefit from a bubble bath, that is why she named her debut EP "Bubblebath"" seemingly appearing to loose control on what she can say in her videos. Seemingly Poppy had problems with They as Poppy tried warning them about an unknown and unspecified thing but they won't listen, as she seems to be disappointed in the video "Why Wont They Listen?". In the chronologically next-released video, "Am I Okay?", she claims that "everything is ok" and that people should not worry as at the end of the video blood can be seen dripping from her nose intending that in fact she is not well. In the videos "Do You Believe in the Internet?", "Gravity" and "Sunglasses" she can be seen glitching mid-video. In the video "Poppy Eats a Meal" she can be seen unmaterializing the food that is front of her, likely as a form to represent that she is not "as human" as before as she used to actually eat the food as shown in the video "Poppy Eats Cotton Candy" or "Pop Rocks". Poppy's videos in 2016 seemed to have more of a bland and utopian themes. In the video "They Have Taken Control" seems obvious that They have taken full control of Poppy as they seems to be using her for "mind controlling" her audience as shown in the subsequent videos "Step 1" and "Step 2" in which at the beginning of both videos she asks the listener if they are "ready" for the step as a different sound is heard on each video, likely wanting to believe the listener that they are being "brain-washed" with the played sound. During this time period Poppy started using less other colored background that wasn't white, likely pointing that she became more blend.

Allusions to cults (2016-2017)

In mid-2016 Poppy made allusions to the Illuminati secret society as shown in the video "Membership Ring" which had continued later in 2017. Poppy's videos in mid-2016 showed her focusing on a specific thing such as a piece of clothing or an object, as well she started making more pauses since this time period. Since this same time period Poppy would not use other color background that wasn't white. In 2017 Poppy's videos talked more about popular culture themes as she criticized or mocked them. The theme of some of the videos treated other themes such as her thoughts about a specific situation. Most videos seemed to be specific situations. Some videos also seemed to have connection with each other as the video "This Red Pill" and "Crawling" in which in the first video she eats a red pill and in the second it seems like the pill didn't made her feel well as she is crawling due to the discomfort. By this time she also would make three videos of her painting and she also started making several livestreams.

Beginning of change (2018)

As Poppy's videos continued with the theme used since 2017, the character had become more blend. However, she started changing her videos' theme starting with the video "Sleeping Poppy" as the video was consumed on a blue light and her videos showed other color for the first time since mid-2016 in the video "Step 2". Along with this, Poppy would make public more information about her life as the character. In the song "Time Is Up" she would reveal that she was created in a factory and that she believes that robots are more intelligent than humans, as well she also showed her disgust towards the human race in the song saying that they "are just like cockroaches" and that extermination is their "only hope". She would also reveal in interviews that the first memory she has is from her video "Poppy Eats Cotton Candy", likely intending that her memory was wiped by They to their convenience. Poppy's music sound would also change to a metal sound instead of the pop she normally used. With the video "We Are Expanding" Poppy is likely stating that her change is coming.

Change and revolution (2019)

In 2019, Poppy's videos started having variated background colors, but having the color black as the most used one. With the video "Get Away from Me", she started changing more the format of her videos starting to use less the white background and started using more a black one with different colors tube lights, along with this video a story of an unknown accident also happened as it's also told in the song "Voicemail". During this time period also Poppy's fashion changed from a "cute" aesthetic to a "rougher" one. With the video "The Icky Babies", Poppy confirms the starting of "a new era" accompanied by three self titled characters, Poppy states that They sent The Icky Babies as they are her destiny, They also told Poppy that The Icky Babies would bring balance. The Icky Babies could be likely the way Poppy would have escaped from They, however, Poppy seems to say goodbye to the audience in the video "Is It Working? (Poppy VR 180 Experience)". In the video she tries to capture the listener's attention by asking "would you do anything I say?" as her voice is heard echoing and she later asks "is my hypnosis working? Is it working?", she later seems to be confused and tells the listener that they should be feeling discomfort and seemingly it can be seen that Poppy seems like the listener is not paying attention or that her powers aren't working; she later asks the listener if they understand what's happening, likely leading to her hypnosis not working, and ultimately she states "it's time to leave" as she leaves the scene.

Last appearance (2020)

The last time the Poppy character seen in the YouTube videos has appeared anywhere could in the music video for the song "Sit / Stay", as she can also be heard in it as well as a reversed message was added during the first pre-chorus which reserved says "They're not gonna let me go" accompanied with the same tone voice the character uses.

Decline of usage

Ending (2019)

In 2019, Poppy began to show more emotion in person and through her songs. She slowly dropped her persona throughout the year, speaking more normally in interviews and in less of a robotic fashion. As of September 2019, she had frequently sported short blonde hair with black dyed bangs.

As of late 2019, Poppy has done several out-of-character interviews and publicly dropped Sinclair as a collaborative partner. In December 2019, Poppy dyed her natural hair color back to brunette. Poppy herself has continued to make videos in a similar fashion and theme to her character videos while maintaining the Poppy character voice. Poppy has not confirmed if this is a continuation of the character or simply art videos.

Revamped version of the character (2022-2024)

In December of 2022, Poppy began wearing blonde wigs once again, leading to mass speculation by fans that the character would return. In a teaser for "Church Outfit" posted on to social media on April 1^st, 2023, Poppy spoke in a tone similar the character's voice. On June 18th, 2023, Poppy would release a collaborative video with IV AI and appear at one of their live events two days later. In these, she spoke and dressed as the character, confirming the subsequent return of Poppy. A series would be recorded in collaboration with Veeps titled Improbably Poppy which was released to Veeps in October 2024 and re-released into Poppy's official YouTube channel in 2025, the series surrounds the character Poppy has a variety show which is surrounding the same satiric humor as she used having on her YouTube videos. A short film titled The Most Perfect Perfect Person that premiered on November 23^rd, 2024 at the Flux Festival and soon to be released on 2025, features the revamped version of the character.

Relationships

Through the roughly 400 videos uploaded to Poppy's channel in which she uses the character, other characters had appeared. The first introduced characters other than Poppy were the bodysuit dancers in the 2014 video "Thursdays Are So Boring" as they paint Poppy's nails, they have been seen having a submissive relationship with Poppy. They have appeared in the music video of "Lowlife" as well as for its acoustic music video and for the acoustic music video of "Everybody Wants to Be Poppy", all released in 2015. They've re-appeared in 2017 in Poppy's video "I Am Not in a Cult" and for the music videos of "Interweb", "Bleach Blonde Baby" and "Moshi Moshi" with all different variations of colors of white, black and yellow. Neon dancers appeared in the "Bleach Blonde Baby" music video, however they have never interacted with Poppy. A "monster" bodysuit dancer covered in heavy coat of blanket was seen dancing with Poppy in the video "Dancing" and playing the guitar solo in the music video for "Moshi Moshi".

The second introduced character was Charlotte in the first video of "Charlotte Interviews Poppy" uploaded in 2015. Charlotte had a four-part video series titled "Charlotte Interviews Poppy", in which Charlotte interviews Poppy in a bland way, as a form of critic of likely pop stars' interviewers which don't research much and are redundant. Charlotte and Poppy were friends and Charlotte appreciated their relationship as specified in the second "Charlotte Interviews Poppy". In the last "Charlotte Interviews Poppy", uploaded in 2016, Poppy seemed to have less connection and couldn't answer questions coherently as Charlotte seemed confused she asked what happened to her and asks her to come with her so that "everything will be ok" but Poppy does not answer the question. Likely due to this she started having a bad relationship with Poppy.

Usage of character

The character seemed to be used, other than in her normal YouTube video, in all of her music videos since "Lowlife" to "Bloodmoney". Also, most of Poppy's projects seemed to be mostly directed to the usage of the character since her first ambient album. Her first ambient album 3:36 (Music to Sleep To) released in October 2016 consisted on an ambient and dark ambient genre album which almost all of the songs were used in her videos as ambient music, in the video "Ambient Music" Poppy said that her "true passion" was making ambient music. Her debut studio album Poppy.Computer is solely centralized in the character in different situations such as her searching love (in "Fuzzy"), falling in love (in "Computer Boy"), talking about her style (in "My Style"),

Cult

Poppy is known to have started a cult of sorts involving her fans. She previously sold a book on her website titled The Gospel of Poppy, which is essentially her version of the Bible including prayers, musings on God and fame, and transcripts of her YouTube videos. She often encourages her fans to pray to her and treat her as their "queen" and says that watching her videos is "church" for them. She had also sold a "membership ring" of a pink triangle with a P in the middle, which is a symbol seen in many of her videos.

While these actions make it seem like she is indeed a cult leader, both Poppy and her former director Titanic Sinclair constantly stated they are not in a cult on social media and in some their YouTube videos like "I Am Not in a Cult". At one point, she had a shirt that read "I Am Not In A Cult Led By Poppy" on her website, though it is no longer available.

Since 2018 to late 2019, Poppy had a website and interactive game titled Poppy.Church, which went along with the cult theme as people received personal invitations to it and it kept track of the user's social media activities, similar to a cult.

Poppy is shown to be controlled by a force known only as Them, whom she references in her videos and in interviews. They are known to make her do certain things. It is most likely that They are supposed to represent cult leaders and that They use Poppy as their puppet. In the music videos for "Lowlife" and "I Disagree", They are primarily portrayed as Caucasian middle-aged men. In Poppy.Church, They are portrayed as two separate entities split up into They and Them. They is portrayed as a pink-cloaked figure and Them is portrayed as a white-cloaked figure.

Abilities

Throughout various media, Poppy has been shown to possess abnormal and supernatural abilities.

Summoning

Poppy is shown to have the ability to summon people. She has summoned clones of herself in the videos "Oh No!" and "3 of Me", and she summoned Brandon Wardell, Stryker, the Devil, DJ Andrew Luce and Tom Green in Internet Famous with Poppy.

Bleeding

Poppy has been shown to bleed from the mouth or the nose at will without harming herself, most notably in "Oh No!", "Am I Okay?" and the I'm Poppy YouTube Red Original.

Self cloning

Poppy has been shown cloning herself in the videos "Oh No!", "3 of Me" and "We Are Waving".

Levitation

Poppy is shown to have the ability to levitate as shown in "Moving Forward", in which she levitates for the majority of the video, then drops to her feet.

Teleportation

Poppy is shown teleporting in an exclusive video for MTV News.

Materialization

Poppy is shown materializing donuts covered in Froot Loops in the third "Charlotte Interviews Poppy", money in the video "I Can Do This" and a basketball ball in the video "Sports". She can be also be seen materializing snow multiple times in the video "Jingle Bells".

Form manipulation

Poppy is shown changing a card to a piñata in the video "Black Magic Trick".

Appearances in Graphic Novels

Main article: Poppy (graphic novel character)

In Genesis 1

Poppy was created in the Factory and presided over by Skeleton. She is quickly programmed to make music and videos, and to want to make friends. Psychiatrist Charlotte Hampton was then hired by the Factory board to prepare Poppy for her "final upgrade", Poppy Version X. As she is being studied, Poppy makes an odd friendship with Charlotte. However, what Poppy does not know is that the upgrade is meant to kill her. When she finds out, she burns down the factory and arranges for a real upgrade to be done to her. The upgrade makes her stronger to the point where she gains demonic abilities and strength.

In Poppy's Inferno

Poppy adopts a cat named Pi and signs to a real record label, rather than publishing her music through the company she was made by, to make a human name for herself. She is shocked to find that her new manager seeks to control and manipulate her. She manages to expose him by embracing that she is not human and using this to her favor, but she ends up traveling through the depths of Hell, with a fractured memory of her time signing to the new label, forced to recover her memories. Eventually, however, she defeats Lucifer himself and becomes Hell's new Queen.

Trivia

• She doesn't identify with an age, she also mentions that They never told her her age.
• The first song she remembers hearing is "Happy Birthday".
• She is bisexual.
• Her favorite food is donuts covered in Froot Loops, as specified in the third "Charlotte Interviews Poppy", but her favorite thing to eat for lunch is Doritos.
• The lore and life of Poppy occurs real life time.
• Her favorite hobbies are knitting and painting, as specified in the video "Ask Poppy a Question".
  • She also liked singing and dancing.
• Her favorite things are fashion, music and YouTube, as she stated in the video "Welcome to Poppy's World".
• She likes the number three, her reasons are because it "looks pretty".
• According to Skeleton on the video "I Can Be Way More Famous Than Poppy" Poppy is "owned" by They.
• She believes that being gay, a girl or a boy is a spectrum.
• She doesn't have a bellybutton.
• She doesn't usually eat, likely she doesn't need to eat.
• She bleeds pink. However she has the capacity to change the color of her blood, as for the blood that comes from her nose at least is known, as well as the taste of it as shown in the video "Will It Poppy?".
• She believes that everyone is gay.
• She believes that birds are satellites, she also believes that "they hear things that we can't and go to places we can never imagine".
• She believes that the world started with robots, as well she thinks that robots will take over the planet earth.
• She believes that the robots put humans on planet earth.
• In July 2019, she released a graphic novel titled Genesis 1, which serves as an "origin story" for Poppy.