Haley Lu Richardson Reveals the X-Rated Karaoke Song She Performed While ‘Really Drunk’ in Budapest (Exclusive)
- - Haley Lu Richardson Reveals the X-Rated Karaoke Song She Performed While ‘Really Drunk’ in Budapest (Exclusive)
Erin Clack, Luke ChinmanJanuary 25, 2026 at 3:00 AM
0
Kristina Bumphrey/Variety/Getty
Haley Lu Richardson at the N.Y.C. premiere of 'Ponies' on Jan. 14, 2026 -
Haley Lu Richardson opened up to PEOPLE about filming her new spy thriller series Ponies in Budapest
During the six-month shoot in the capital of Hungary, she and her fellow castmembers had some fun karaoke nights
Richardson revealed the X-rated hit that was her go-to karaoke song
Haley Lu Richardson is reminiscing about filming her new series Ponies in Budapest.
While chatting exclusively with PEOPLE at the spy thriller's New York City premiere on Jan. 14, the actress, 30, shared that her favorite part of spending six months shooting in the Hungarian capital was bonding and letting loose with her costars during karaoke nights.
She recalled one time when they were all "really drunk," and actor Nicholas Podany "starts playing the piano to do a jazzy, old-timey version of 'WAP.' "
"And I’d be like, 'And a bucket and a mop…' " Richardson continued, revealing that the X-rated Cardi B hit — which also features Megan Thee Stallion — was her go-to karaoke song.
Gilbert Flores/WWD/Getty;Atlantic Recording
Haley Lu Richardson; Cardi B in the 'WAP' music video
The White Lotus alum said she and the Ponies cast had "a really good time" overall on set — so much so that they "often annoyed" the Peacock show's crew.
"Because there’s this set called 'the bubble,' where actually all of the most serious, high-stakes, life-or-death spy sh-- and scenes and stuff happened. And the bubble was filled with laughing gas or something, because we would get in there and we would just cry laughing and we could never remember any lines," she explained.
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
"And poor Adrian [Lester] had to say all of this CIA guy jargon, and we were really not professional," she continued, adding, "But it was literally the time of my life. I had so much fun."
Podany, 29, and Ponies costar Vic Michaelis also spoke to PEOPLE about the cast's karaoke hangouts at the premiere, revealing that they often gathered at an "ex-pat bar" in Budapest called Brody House.
Katalin Vermes/PEACOCK
Haley Lu Richardon in 'Ponies' on Peacock
"We tried to find other venues to host parties, and it was always just Brody House," Podany said, sharing that they even did "live" karaoke one memorable night.
"There’s a band that’s in the show, [and] I managed to get all of the people who were in the band, and we played live karaoke for the rest of the cast. It was amazing," he recalled.
Richardson and Emilia Clarke lead Ponies as Twila and Bea, respectively — the wives of two CIA agents working undercover in Moscow, then the capital of the Soviet Union, in 1977. After both of their husbands are suddenly killed in a plane crash, the women volunteer to take their place as CIA operatives.
The pair pose as secretaries to the U.S. ambassador to the USSR's office, and work to uncover answers about their husbands' deaths and the mysteries of the USSR.
"We're women. People only look at us if they want to have sex with us or marry us, and that's it," Richardson's character says in the trailer. "No one would ever suspect anything of us."
All eight episodes of Ponies are streaming now on Peacock.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
