Kris Jenner Steals the Show in Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” Music Video
When the music video for Ariana Grande‘s new single “Thank U, Next” dropped on Friday afternoon after days of hints from Grande, fans were delighted to see that, besides starring most of the pop star’s tight-knit circle of friends, it also featured several celebrities, including some who starred in the early-2000s romantic comedies that Grande parodied in the video, like Mean Girls‘s Jonathan Bennett and Stefanie Drummond, and Legally Blonde‘s Jennifer Coolidge. Another starry cameo was much more unexpected, but no less perfect: For the role of Regina George’s mom in the Mean Girls–inspired portion of the video, Grande turned to none other than Kris Jenner.
In the video, Jenner plays the perfect mix of Amy Poehler—who originated the role of the overbearing Mrs. George—Grande’s own mother Joan, and herself. Like Poehler’s Mrs. George, Jenner sports a baby-pink tracksuit, waves around a now-obsolete video camera, and dances in the aisle as she captures her daughter’s talent show dance routine to “Jingle Bell Rock.” Unlike the flaxen-haired Poehler, however, Jenner sports her usual closely cropped brunette ‘do, which bears a close resemblance to Joan Grande’s own dark, spiky pixie cut. In fact, before the video’s release, Grande revealed on Twitter that she’d specifically cast the role of Mrs. George with her own mother in mind: “i did get someone to play her. meaning i got somebody to play @joangrande playing mrs. george,” she wrote.
And, of course, the entire role is reminiscent of Jenner’s own status as perhaps the most successful momager of all time. Though she never actually utters the words “You’re doing amazing, sweetie” in the music video, that real-life moment perfectly mirrors Mrs. George’s over-the-top enthusiasm for her daughter’s wannabe-sexy holiday routine.
Catch all of Jenner’s scene-stealing moments in the music video—including an extra one at the very end—below.
Jenner, it seems, was nothing short of thrilled to participate in the much-awaited video. Ahead of its release, she reposted one of Grande’s sneak peeks at the video, and on Friday, after sharing the finished product with the caption, “I’m not a regular mom, I’m a cool mom,” she promptly began replying to Twitter users praising her cameo with variations on “thank u, next.” Spoken like a true momager.
