Why Does Everyone Hate Katy Perry So Much?

Yahoo

20-04-2025

The world's rotation these days is propelled by the power of the division, polarization, discord, and vitriolic disagreement that exists on it. Thus it's a surprise for the earth to briefly stand still in a moment of unity. And that seems to be over the hatred of Katy Perry.
How ironic that one major source of that ire is Perry's recent trip to gaze at that world from the lower limits of space. Did she know what we were saying about her down here while she was looking out the window of the rocket up there? (She apparently sang a snippet of 'What a Wonderful World' while in flight; either she was oblivious or she's trolling us all.)
Perry was a part of the all-female team on the Blue Origin spaceflight, alongside Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, and several other formidable women whom the media have largely ignored because of the morbid fear that Jeff Bezos, who funded the mission, might be propelling a major pop star and Oprah's BFF to certain death.
Now that the mission returned safely—that is [puts on tinfoil hat] if the trip happened at all!!!—disgust over the stunt has eclipsed any girl-power-STEM enthusiasm and future-of-humanity goals the mission was supposed to accomplish.
What it did accomplish: unifying the Olivias (Munn and Wilde) in a public shaming of their celebrity sisters for the 'gluttonous' space ride that distracts and siphons resources from real issues facing mankind.
Fellow celebrity Jessica Chastain shared The Guardian's essay titled, 'The Blue Origin Flight Showcased the Utter Defeat of American Feminism.' It's a pretty brutal one. The line 'the flight served as a kind of perverse funeral for the America that once enabled both scientific advancement and feminist progress' is just the beginning.
But it was Perry who bore the brunt of the thinkpieces. The Atlantic called her 'the perfect pop star for a dumb stunt.' And a fiery Pitchfork piece titled 'In Space, No One Can Hear You Girlboss' was giddily shared all over social media, particularly for this absolutely savage—and wholly entertaining—read:
'This trip is also kind of the next logical step for Perry's career. And look, I'm an empath, I get it. If I had written a few perfect songs in 2010, had never been able to replicate their magic, and was somehow worth $350 million, I would probably also embark on a quest for meaning in the journeywork of the stars. Would I be honest with myself and admit to the world that this was just a million dollar carnival ride dissembling as a publicity stunt, that we are not space revolutionaries but rather celebs in couture trying to milk a few days of earned media paid for by Amazon? Who can say.'
You would think that would be as harsh as it could possibly get when it comes to the Katy Perry pile-on. But then again, no one expected fast-food chain Wendy's to enter the fray. The burger slinger's X account posted 'Can we send her back?,' inciting a whole news cycle including a response from insiders 'close' to Perry decrying the bullying from the House of Frosty. With this feud, one could say Wendy's finally 'found the beef.' (Ba-dum-ching!)
But why is it Perry who is the focus of this ill-will? She wasn't the only person on the flight. But she is the easiest target.
Unlike Perry, who is now, thanks to Blue Origin, 'excited to learn more about STEM,' I am neither scientific nor mathematical. But I am well-versed in the practice of something else: gauging vibes.
The vibes on Perry, at least online and among cultural obsessives, have not been great for years.
She hasn't had a Top 10 hit since 2016, with each successive 'flop' record becoming a meme about how she doesn't make good music anymore.
The lead single off her latest record, 'Woman's World,' was mocked as a laughably obtuse—and unlistenable—attempt to capitalize on a Kamala Harris-led feminist moment. The rumor that Perry offered the song to Harris to use for her campaign, and Harris politely passed, only added to the humiliation—which the cruel internet in turn celebrated.
She's never really been 'canceled,' but she's not without controversy. Never forget that her attempt to buy a convent, against the wishes of its sisters, was so aggressive that one nun's dying words were allegedly, 'Katy Perry, please stop.' And then there was her voting booth selfie showing that she voted for polarizing candidate Rick Caruso for L.A. mayor, rankling liberal fans who were alarmed by Caruso's political leanings.
Generally, though, as her music career has stagnated, Perry has projected a mixture of excessive enthusiasm and dire desperation, a combination that can only be described as the most lethal of Very Online words: 'cringe.'
So a much maligned spaceflight on top of that? Perry herself was laying up the ball for everyone to dunk on her. (Did I do that sports metaphor right?)
We want our popstars woke. They need to serve bops and demand social justice simultaneously, or else feel our wrath. Whatever good work Perry has done on those fronts over her career, taking a billion-dollar trip to space on a rocket funded by the left's Dr. Evil, Jeff Bezos, squashes it. Worse, she isn't even giving us good music while she does it.
This isn't the end of Perry's career. She's going on a massive tour, which she, in another cringe move, promoted from space. She's talented. All it takes is one good song to salvage a pop star's reputation.
Plus, we all know how this controversy is going to end: Katy Perry starring in a Wendy's Super Bowl commercial set in outer space.