Ever since she kissed a girl and liked it, Katy Perry has burned some bigtime bridges.
There were Twitter wars, the televised assault — and even a dead nun.
But if you think these beefs are cold as ice, this pop star proves it's never really over.
Katy Perry and feisty British pop sensation Lily Allen have exchanged
some harsh words over the years. Back in 2008, during the early era of Perry's fame,
Allen told CapitalFM that she was, quote, "frosty" with Perry the first time they met.
Reportedly, Allen took issue with a joke Perry had made at the time, recalling,
"She's like, […] 'I'm like a fatter version of Amy Winehouse and a skinnier version of Lily Allen.'
It's like, you're not English and you don't write your own songs, shut up."
A few days later, Perry confirmed that she had indeed made the joke.
She also apologized, telling Us Weekly,
"I was just kind of joking and trying to be funny.
I didn't mean anything by it. Comedians are not necessarily to be taken super seriously."
Regardless of Perry's ability to land a joke, Allen later referenced the singer in her 2014 song
"Sheezus." Seemingly minimizing Perry's so-called "roaring," within her lyrics,
it appears that Perry's apology was not at all accepted.
"Sorry."
Perry and DJ Calvin Harris were scheduled to tour together to promote her album "Teenage
Dream." But Perry's team apparently changed the stage production around at the last minute,
which annoyed Harris. In typical fashion, the argument spilled over onto social media,
and the two aired their dirty laundry in full view of the public. Perry tweeted in 2011:
"FYI ALL UK & IRELAND RELATED SHOWS @CalvinHarris
will NOT be joining in on the fun and has CANCELLED last minute."
Harris quickly defended himself, letting his followers know that he
was unhappy with the existing stage production. He tweeted,
"Trust me you would have been more disappointed SEEING the show than u are with me cancelling."
Not willing to let Harris get the last word, Perry shot back to the DJ,
"It's fine, I'm used to you canceling on me, it's become ur staple!"
Meanwhile, Gigwise reported that a bunch of KatyCats
sent Harris disturbing tweets, and Perry didn't call off her fans.
But the two made up years later, releasing the 2017 hit single "Feels" together.
Perry also confirmed to Ryan Seacrest that the beef was indeed history.
In 2018, Perry joined the judges
panel for the "American Idol" reboot, and almost immediately, she got into trouble with fans.
When 19-year-old Benjamin Glaze auditioned for the judges, he confessed that he had
never kissed a girl. Perry then invited him to peck her on the cheek, but protested,
"You didn't even make the smush sound!"
When he went in for a second try, she kissed him directly on the mouth. While
Glaze's audition failed to move him forward in the competition,
controversy about the kiss erupted across social media. As Glaze told The New York Times,
"I was a tad bit uncomfortable. I wanted to save [kissing] for
my first relationship. I wanted it to be special."
Still, he later confirmed on Facebook that he was mostly
uncomfortable because the whole thing was a surprise. He posted,
"I do not think I was sexually harassed by Katy Perry."
Katy Perry was born Katheryn Hudson, and before she became the megastar fans know and love today,
she released an album as Katy Hudson. As Pop Crave noted, the record flopped,
selling an estimated 200 copies. Because there was already a famous Kate Hudson, a rebrand
as "Katy Perry" followed in 2008. She released "One of the Boys" and the rest is pop history.
But the trouble was, there was already a Katie Perry…clothing line. Australian designer Katie
Jane Taylor tried to trademark the name Katie Perry back in 2009. According to the Daily Mail,
Perry's lawyers then sent Taylor a cease-and-desist to prevent her
from using the name for her brand. The resulting lawsuits dragged on for years.
"Oh my gosh. I did that like ten years ago and you're still bringin' it out."
Taylor sued Perry in 2021, alleging trademark infringement. Courts released emails that Perry
had sent to her team about the designer, in which she reportedly called her a, quote,
"dumb b----." Other outlets reported on Perry advising her team not to apologize.
The Australian Associated Press reported that, back in 2009,
Taylor had shared a message with Perry via YouTube, begging her to ease up, claiming,
"I'm absolutely no threat whatsoever to you. You're a girl who has a dream just
like myself. I wish you all the success but leave me to carry on my dream."
Of all of Perry's many feuds,
this one might be the strangest. Long before the pop star got involved,
the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary were already embroiled in a feud with their
own Archdiocese. As the Los Angeles Times reported, they purchased their sprawling Los
Angeles complex at a serious discount decades ago, and at first, 52 nuns lived on the property. But
as they passed away and their numbers dwindled, the Archdiocese forced them to move out.
"Katy Perry said she was gonna close it. It was gonna be her home."
Then, the Archdiocese attempted to sell the property to a certain interested pop star. The
back and forth between the nuns and Perry dragged on for years. As one Sister told Billboard,
"Katy Perry represents everything we don't believe in. It would be a sin to sell to her."
The nuns then sold the convent to a restaurateur. But the Archdiocese sued
to reverse the sale and gave it to Perry instead. Then, an unthinkable tragedy.
Sister Catherine Rose passed away in court, during proceedings in 2018.
Sister Rita alleged to Page Six that Perry has, quote, "blood on her hands."
Perry and Taylor Swift's feud is the stuff of
pop culture legend. And it all started with some early rumblings of trouble. In 2014, Swift told
Rolling Stone that her upcoming track "Bad Blood" was about a certain other pop star, revealing,
"She did something so horrible. I was like, 'Oh, we're just straight-up enemies."
All but confirming that she was the pop star in question,
Perry tweeted when the interview went live:
"Watch out for the Regina George in sheep's clothing."
Allegedly, Perry had poached some of T Swift's dancers for a tour. And the following year,
one of Swift's backup dancers dressed as a shark during a performance of "Bad
Blood" — possibly in reference to Perry's notorious Left Shark meme.
Then, in the summer of 2015, Swift called out Nicki Minaj for getting competitive
with women about VMA nominations. Perry quickly tweeted in response:
"Finding it ironic to parade the pit women against other women argument about,
as one unmeasurably capitalizes on the take down of a woman."
But after years of squabbling, it seemed the past was securely behind them. In 2019,
Swift invited Perry to appear in her music video for "You Need to
Calm Down," and the two looked chummier than ever.
Lady Gaga and Katy Perry
used to be friends. Perry even once called Gaga the quote, "next Madonna, but better." But when
Gaga released "Alejandro" in 2010, Perry wasn't feeling it. The Christian-raised Perry tweeted:
"Using blasphemy as entertainment is as cheap as a comedian telling a fart joke."
This kicked off years of spats between the two. They managed to show some support for
one another when Gaga released "Applause" on the same day Perry dropped "Roar," in 2013. But a
few months later, Gaga was clapping back at the constant comparisons between the two — including
an episode of "Glee" pitting them against one another. Gaga tweeted about Perry's tour design,
accusing her of ripping off hair color and design elements that Gaga had used first.
"[...] that I was just the girl that loved to dress crazy."
But these days, the stars appear to have moved beyond all of the drama.
Gaga explained in a tweet,
"We've matured, gotten over the past,
love each other & share deep respect. Katy is my friend and is truly a kind soul."
In 2013, Perry actually did something
nice on Twitter, when she promoted the work of an artist with less of a platform than she had.
In this case, it was a music video for "Brave" by Sarah Bareilles. At the time, Perry wrote,
"I heart you @SaraBareilles." The next day, Bareilles replied, "Heart you back, babe."
The problem arose when, a few months later, Perry dropped "Roar." The Wrap reported that fans were
quick to notice that the song sounded very familiar. And comparison videos between "Roar"
and "Brave" overwhelmed YouTube. "Roar" went straight to Number 1, while "Brave" did not.
"The music comes first most of the time, for me,
and then I have to go back and figure out what I'm trying to say."
But, for her part, Bareilles claimed she was still grateful for the attention.
She explained via The Hollywood Reporter,
"I was stoked. I was like, 'Great.' I was like,
'You guys want to go get [mad] about something and buy my music, that's great.'"
Bareilles also revealed that she had spoken to Perry during the controversy,
and that they were on good terms.
Before she shot
to stardom for sing-talking about brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack, Kesha was on the
come-up when she appeared in Perry's music video for "I Kissed a Girl." Both Perry and Kesha were
proteges of super-producer Dr. Luke, with Kesha having co-written the mega hits "California Gurls"
and "Tik Tok." And the two pop stars truly seemed to get along during those early days.
But years later, when Kesha went public with allegations that Dr. Luke had sexually and
psychologically abused her, Perry was one of the few pop stars who didn't support Kesha's
quest to be released from her contract. Perry even testified on Dr. Luke's behalf.
Perry finally spoke about the legal drama in 2020, telling the Los Angeles Times,
"I believe in due process. And I also believe that only [Kesha and Dr. Luke] know the truth."
It's a time-honored pop
girl rite of passage to appear at Coachella. And for up-and-coming singer Ryn Weaver,
her experience was allegedly ruined because of Katy Perry, in 2015.
According to Billboard, the whole thing started because Perry tweeted out support of Hilary
Clinton's presidential run. That then led Weaver to recount the Coachella night when she and
Perry were part of the audience for Drake's show, along with several mutual friends. She recalled,
"Anytime I spoke she started turning her head around pretending she heard something,
then said, 'Do you hear something?' while staring at me."
Perry supposedly told her friends — within earshot of Weaver,
"That Ryn Weaver girl is soooo obsessed with me."
After news of the incident broke,
the KatyCats attacked. Weaver backed off and deleted her tweets, telling one fan,
"Technically I'm a KatyCat too. Or was. I was personally victimized by Regina George tho."
After releasing her debut album "The Fool" in 2015, Weaver took some time
away from the spotlight. As of early 2022, she last released music in 2018,
sharing with her Instagram followers back then:
"I put out a little demo [...] after a very testing quarter life crisis, and honestly a fear
of releasing music again. It was the first thing I wrote after a bit of an existential meltdown."
"I'm just calling my husband to tell him I'm a snake."
By all accounts, Perry's 14-month marriage to Russell Brand was a rocky one right from the
start. They got engaged on New Year's Eve in 2009, after three months of dating, then got married and
divorced by 2012. Specific details are lacking, but in 2020, Perry told "60 Minutes Australia,"
"It was the first, kind of, breaking of my idealistic mind."
As Vogue reported, Brand told her he wanted a divorce over text. But
while the actor has stayed quiet about the split, Perry aired out the raw,
emotional details about the divorce in her 2012 documentary "Part of Me," explaining,
"Love is a dream but the reality is making it work.
I did everything I could – but it still failed."
Brand finally offered his side of the story in 2021, sharing on TikTok,
"I really tried in that relationship. I have nothing but positive feelings for her."
"The best thing is like, she's really exciting and brilliant and good fun.
And the worst thing, I suppose, is things like that don't last forever."
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the
Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness
helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.