Chappell Roan still swears by The Sims 2: Double Deluxe: ‘I knew every cheat code, so I would make everybody pregnant and everybody woohoo’

At a Q&A with fans, musician Kayleigh Amstutz⁠—better known by her stage name, Chappell Roan⁠—was asked about her Sims 4 preferences by a member of the crowd. Roan responded by revealing a deep love for The Sims 2, specifically its GOTY-style re-release, Double Deluxe, and even cited it as an inspiration for her style of performance.

A video of the exchange was shared by the TikTok fan account allthingschappell⁠—presumably one stop shopping for all things Chappell Roan in vertical video format⁠—but the video seems to have been originally uploaded by the inimitable djpusskyat26. Someone in the crowd asked Roan what her “go-to Sims 4 storyline” is, to which the performer replied, “Oh girl, I am a Sims 2: Double Deluxe. I’m not Sims 4.”

@allthingschappell
♬ original sound – All things Chappell 💓

“I knew every cheat code,” Roan recalled, “so I would make everyone pregnant and everyone woohoo. I would make everyone have twin baby aliens, and I was a freak and was just trying to make people naked. But I couldn’t find it. I was just trying to make everyone naked.”

I think that touches on a pretty universal millennial/gen z experience: Furtively exploring sex through videogames, getting flummoxed by non-existent Tomb Raider topless cheat codes or ensorcelled by spurious accounts of unblurred “woohoo” scenes in The Sims. We’ve all been there. I gotta imagine kids these days are seeing stuff in Discord servers or Peter Griffin creepypasta-themed Roblox games that make my generation’s preoccupations seem tragically quaint.

On a more serious note, Roan then mused about the lasting impact The Sims 2 had on her creatively: “I was really, really involved with Sims 2. I still feel like I’m in Sims with Chappell⁠—I’m Kayleigh right now, obviously, I have stains on my dress and I’m carrying my purse.”

Roan has previously discussed how she adopts a distinct character when performing, a drag queen persona separate from her usual self. “For Chappell, it’s like a Sims character. I can dress her up and put her in a world. I think that’s what I was practicing for [with the] Sims.” Roan finished with one more story of juvenile Sims chaos before lamenting that she doesn’t have the game or her saves anymore⁠—The Sims 2 is also no longer available for purchase digitally.

“I loved to just make my people cheat on each other⁠—something I do not participate in,” Roan said. “I wish I had it still, my Sims 2.”