Katy Perry Responds to Online Backlash After Spaceflight: “I’m Treated Like a Human Piñata”
Friday, May 2, 2025 — WafricNews
Pop star Katy Perry has spoken out following a wave of criticism over her recent Blue Origin spaceflight and her cross-continental Lifetimes Tour, saying the internet has treated her like a “human piñata” — but she’s choosing grace and resilience in the face of it.
In a heartfelt message to fans shared via a fan-run Instagram page, Perry expressed gratitude for her supporters — the “KatyCats” — who crowdfunded a massive digital billboard in New York’s Times Square to celebrate the opening week of her tour. The gesture, she said, came at a time when online negativity has been unrelenting.
“The internet is very much so a dumping ground for unhinged and unhealed,” Perry wrote in a candid comment. “When the ‘online’ world tries to make me a human piñata, I take it with grace and send them love.”
Perry, who recently became the first pop star to join an all-female Blue Origin spaceflight, has faced backlash from celebrities, media, and social platforms. Critics slammed the space mission — billed as a milestone for women in STEM — as “tone-deaf” and wasteful, with some accusing the artist of exploiting the journey to market her tour. Even fast-food chain Wendy’s chimed in, mocking her effort as “girlboss gibberish.”
From Chart-Topping Fame to Critique Culture
Katy Perry’s fame soared in the 2010s, with her Teenage Dream album making history as the first by a woman to produce five Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits. But her more recent projects, including last year’s single Woman’s World and the album 143, have struggled to capture the same public enthusiasm, and were met with criticism for shallow messaging and questionable collaborators.
Her latest arena tour, which kicked off in Mexico City, has attracted online ridicule through viral clips stripped of context, often shared with scathing commentary. Still, Perry insists that the virtual noise does not define her reality.
“What’s real is seeing your faces every night, singing in unison, reading your notes, feeling your warmth,” she wrote. “I find people to lock eyes with and I know we are healing each other in a small way when I get to do that.”
A Journey Through Fire and Light
Reflecting on the highs and lows of her career, Perry acknowledged her imperfections, emphasizing that she has removed the word “perfect” from her vocabulary.
“I’m on a human journey playing the game of life with an audience of many. Sometimes I fall, but I get back up and continue to play the game,” she wrote. “Through my battered and bruised adventure, I keep looking to the light.”
As celebrity culture grows increasingly intertwined with internet spectacle and critique, Perry’s response highlights a broader reckoning faced by public figures navigating both digital and real-world audiences.
By WafricNews Entertainment Desk.
By WafricNews Entertainment Desk.
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