The new Princess Rap Battle is here: Watch Maleficent and Daenerys spit some fire
You’ve probably seen one of Whitney Avalon’s Princess Rap Battle videos. They’re all over the internet, from her first video, Snow White vs Elsa, to her most recent, Cinderella vs Belle, featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar as the perpetually late princess. The battles feature each princess’ fierce side, telling the world why she’s great with a wink to other pop culture references. We’ve been waiting with bated breath for the newest installment — and it’s finally here!!
The newest Princess Rap Battle is Maleficent vs Daenerys (from Sleeping Beauty and Game of Thrones, respectively), and it’s super rad! Two ladies known for their dragons are a super fun pairing, and this battle has an extra surprise. “With each video we try to challenge ourselves with new elements, and this time we stepped it up with an entire animated segment,” says Avalon. Yvonne Strahovski, star of upcoming series The Astronaut Wives Club, plays Daenerys, while Whitney herself embodies Maleficent.
Check out the video here, and keep scrolling for our exclusive interview with Whitney!
As actress, rapper, producer, writer, and creator of the Princess Rap Battle series (along with Steve Gossett), Whitney Avalon is a pretty busy and talented lady. She’s also extremely nice and super down to earth, with an infectious enthusiasm for her work. Talking with her makes you feel like maybe you should start creating YouTube vids too, because what could be more fun than making some amazing, artistic, and hilarious productions with a bunch of your friends? She took a few minutes out of her day to answer some questions for us about the newest Princess Rap Battle video, her rapper name, and some advice for teen creators.
This is an unusual (and genius) pairing of royalty! What made you decide on these two?
We wanted to pair Maleficent, that unrepentingly sassy sorceress, with someone who would truly be a challenge to her. Someone powerful, regal, clever, and more than a little familiar with dragons… and Daenerys seemed like the perfect choice. And then Yvonne Strahovski signed on and absolutely nailed the role, to our delight!You always portray one of the rapping princesses in your videos. How do you decide which one you want to play when you’re planning a video?
We have a huge list of incredible female characters from a variety of genres, and I’m in the fortunate position that I can look through, find cultural touchstones that I’ve always wanted to play, and make it happen. (Mary Poppins and Julie Andrews, for example, are both people I’ve always adored, and Belle was my favorite princess when I was a book-loving nerd growing up. Not that I’ve stopped being a book-loving nerd, of course.) We can also find a match-up that’s just too fun to ignore, then figure out which role I’ll fit. Getting to chameleon myself into different characters is a blast!
Do you have advice for teen girls who want to create YouTube videos?
Go for it! Find something you think is important — whether funny, sad, or thought-provoking, make it something impressive and worthy of others’ time — and put your effort into making a video that really reaches its viewer. And don’t let negative comments get you down; anonymity causes some people to just be jerks. If you have a story to tell, use the resources you’ve got (many phones shoot HD video these days and there are thousands of great tutorials online) and tell it.
What would your princess name be?
Probably just Whitney of Avalon, right? Let’s keep it simple.
What would your rapper name be?
Hmmmm. For today, I’ll go with MC Blindingly Pale. There’s a reason I played Snow White first!
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(Images via Candace Lauren and Whitney Avalon.)
