I was really happy; I probably went down to West Hollywood and had a shot. I came from a different mindset growing up, and my mind has changed. My viewpoint on all these things—equality for women, the choice to love anyone you want—hopefully, we will look back at this moment and think like we do now concerning other civil rights issues. We’ll just shake our heads in disbelief, saying, ‘Thank God we’ve evolved.’ That would be my prayer for the future.”
—Pop singer and Part of Me star Katy Perry, discussing President Obama’s endorsement of marriage equality, in Parade Magazine.
Kayo
Don’t really trust her, she’s comes across as fake. Oh well.
Tim
Fixed that for you: Katy Perry, Singer Of UR So Gay, Flip-Flops On Marriage Stance To Enhance Popularity
Sofia
@Kayo: I feel ya, Kayo. Something is not sitting right with me re Katy. Can’t put my finger on it yet.
John
So if y’all doubt Katy Perry’s sincerity where do you stand on Rihanna’s colabs with Beenie and Sizzla?
Paul
@John: Oh God, I’m getting old…who (or what?) the hell is Beenie and Sizzla?
Kayo
@John, if I’m gonna be very honest, Rihanna is a dirty, really dirty low-brow b*tch. There’s something seriously wrong with her, she mixes violence and sex and is such a low person, I think I’m the only one who sees that?!
CakeCakeCake
@Kayo: “the choice to love anyone you want—”
You can tell she’s still ignorant, but I think she was being genuine.
John
I’m not defending Katy, but I really think it’s the money talking, and not “herself”; the woman has a lot of gay friends, and I genuinely think she wants them to be happy, and marry whom ever they choose to. But Katy also wants to avoid alienating the more conservative parts of her audience, including her evangelist parents, and therefore chooses to censors herself to make her true opinion less obvious.
Ignorant bigot? Probably not. Money-minded pop star, afraid to speak up against her evangelist parents bigotry? Very likely!
Nina
Yeah, Katy, I believe you.
Now issue a public apology for the piece of trash that is Ur So Gay, and never, ever sing it again. While you’re at it, issue a public apology to the ex you publicly shamed by calling him out at a concert just so you could “dedicate” the song to him.
TL;DR: Lady Gaga might be a loudmouth, but at least she’s honest and enthusiastic. This sounds to me more like “well gosh, Gaga’s doing it and Kesha’s doing it and criminy, even Kris Allen and 50 Cent are doing it, maybe I better say something!”
George
I’m so glad to read other people’s comments on here that think she’s fake too. I’ve always thought she seems so insincere and I don’t think she really gives a d*mn about gay rights, she just wants gays to buy her sh1tty music. I’ve never understood why gays like her, but besides her music sucking, something about her has always rubbed me the wrong way.
Jason
I like Katy Perry and anyone who endorses equality for gay people is fine by me! I usually think it’s really important to understand what people’s intentions are when they speak about their beliefs and, at times, those intentions can be opaque; we don’t really know what makes Katy Perry speak out about the gays. But look at it this way: if she is being genuine, that’s great! If she think that she will be more appealing in the mass media by endorsing gay rights, then look how far we’ve come (reminds me a little of our man, Obama)! That’s fantastic! What she is NOT doing is endorsing gay rights at one moment and then slamming gays the next. She’s very consistent. I agree some of her songs and actions are bigoted, but those were created in the early days. Unless she comes out with more bigoted music, I think it’s fair to say they are in the past and we can welcome another supporter. And, really, who hasn’t said something bigoted before? *looks sternly at Queerty comment section*
TL;DR Katy Perry is a supporter of the LGBT community and any endorsement is a good endorsement; her earlier music was bigoted and that’s really not that big of a deal; why did I spend so much time thinking about Katy Perry and the Queerty comment section?
Nina
@Jason: Wrong. She still sings “I Kissed A Girl” in concert (which sounds wonderfully inclusive until you parse the lyrics: “It felt so wrong it felt so right, doesn’t mean I’m in love tonight”).
Katy Perry is a sham who has to cut deals with radio stations to stay on the air, and I can’t wait until she’s gone. As far as I’m concerned, she’s only ever done two songs that were any good, and she’s hogging precious radio space that could go to actual advocates (like P!nk and Michael Buble) or actual GLBT performers (Adam Lambert, Lance Bass, Lady Gaga).
Her music is insulting to women (every California girl I know goes into a RAGE if you mention “California Gurls,” and then there’s the matter of I Kissed A Girl and Teenage Dream), gay people (I Kissed A Girl, Ur So Gay), and intelligence in general (take your pick). While we’re at it, why don’t we mention how Ur So Gay is also insulting to straight boys? Shouldn’t we be protecting, not vilifying, straight boys in poet shirts and nail polish who become allies, as opposed to laughing at them?
Honey
tbh if Gaga was anti-gay Katy would be too
no one
she should be for gay marriage since her father is a closet homosexual.
James
Madonna doing it in the 80’s was sincere b/c it meant something when everyone else (aside from Cher) told us to go f#ck ourselves and die during the AIDS pandemic. Soon Janet and some of the others became more vocal in their support. GaGa doing in recently seems pretty sincere and helps to promote a more tolerant younger generation. Katy on the other hand might be sincere but at this point it seems like it’s a requirement to be popular….what pop diva in their right mind would ever denounce the gay community? Prob why we gays have such loyalty to those that paved the way like Madge and Cher and why the younger pop tarts are cast aside so quickly for the next it thing.
Nina
@James:
what pop diva in their right mind would ever denounce the gay community?
Kelly Clarkson. I don’t know if she’s in her right mind, but she’s actively slammed Democrats and said people fighting for equality are “hateful” and “narrow-minded.”
jack
Katie is absolutely right. We often look back on the things we believed and thought about as children that embarass us today. Raised in an Irish Catholic home, I actually believed into early adulthood that when the priest said “hocus Pocus” over a piece of bread that the briead became the Creator of the universe.Can anything be crazier?
Tadpolicus Wex
If we really want to support and offer thanks to current, contemporary musicians, Carrie Underwood should be at the top of our list. She fully, vocally supports marriage equality DESPITE the fact that half her audience do not and at the risk of her financial well-being. Katy Perry is sweet, bittersweet, then again she literally embraces the bubblegum meme so it should come as a surprise to nobody.
FunMe
A lot of gays like Katy Perry, so I wonder if this is a way not to lose those fans. Or better yet “stay relevant” considering that her evangelical parents are anti-gay with their religious bigotry.
I don’t know what to fthink of her words, but I learn toward $$$$ being the motivating factor with her putting out a statement.
Bigby
“…the choice to love anyone you want…” Yeah, ok, b*tch. I have never ever like this dizzy disingenuous cow.
darkorient
Seriously guys? Are we going to bring someone down for supporting our cause? Such a weird world we live in. I’m just glad that we have celebrity allies like her because like it or not, people do look up to them.
DouggSeven
Very well, I’ll paraphrase her quote…
“Hey gays, go see my terrible movie instead of Magic Mike”
gl with that
DouggSeven
@darkorient: Yea, and where was this quote before her movie came out? She’s just marketing at the expense of gays to get their money to see her crappy movie.
DouggSeven
@Tadpolicus Wex: Carrie Underwood would be damned if she did and damned if she didn’t. She was asked the question, not voluntarily saying it. She was wise at the stance she took because otherwise she would have been destroyed by the Hollywood mafia.
BryanC
@Tim: When did she ever say she was against gay marriage??? She has long been a HUGE supporter of gay people. My GOD The trolls who comment on Queerty articles.
BryanC
@darkorient: Yeah, I don’t get these trolls, honestly.
I guess it WASN’T a gay boy getting brave enough to kiss another boy in her “Fireworks” video. I guess she DIDN’T really want the “peacock” song to be a “gay anthem” and gladly give permission for gay dancers to make a gay beefcake loaded video out of her song. It must have ALL been in my head. She has only just NOW come out in favor of gay rights so she can promote a movie! And as for “Magic Mike” and Katy’s new movie, onestly, I am not going to pic one movie over the other. I want to see both. Besides, despite all the beefcake in Magic Mike, I see no evidence that it will be anything but heteronormative in its plot. Sure, we gay men can oggle the beefcake on the silver screen (and the newspapers sure like to make a big deal about how its a “huge draw for gay men”) but at the end of the day, who is the intended audience, isn’t it screaming females? Will there be even one gay male character in the entire film? I doubt it and reviews I have read confirm my doubts. Its gonna be all about the girls and how the male dancers are trying to pick up chicks, even the one actor in the film who is gay in real life will be portraying a straight character. The movie will totally ignore the fact that gay and bi men commonly strip for women, and that there are usually at least a couple gay men in the audience at strip clubs for females. Its going to be a heteronormative extravaganza.
Nina
@DouggSeven: But her audience would have loved it. I’ve seen Carrie get skewered and even abandoned because “no God-fearing REAL country woman would endorse fags” (actual messageboard quote).
Katy isn’t showing courage. Carrie is.
MarieDelta
This woman is a fake! Like our President she can claim she’s all for same gender marriage, and LGBT rights; but in reality she’s not!
Secondly queerty it’s not “Gay” marriage since there are a lot of bisexual men and women who are of the same gender who are together and I am one of them as is my partner/wife!
Jay
I agree Marie this woman isn’t for LGBT rights or same gender marriage she just wants to use LGBT People and our issues as a way to make money, self promote, and sell her music!
Secondly Obama also is not any sort of fierce advocate for LGBT rights or same gender marriage. With him it’s ALL talk and no action!
Anthony
Mhm, just in time for her new movie. How coincidental.
We don’t need your fucking prayers, we need you to actually get off your ass and do something. We need you + more celebrities standing up and speaking out and not being afraid of the backlash you’ll receive when you stand up for things that aren’t always so PC. Sorry, but just saying it isn’t enough anymore. You have a voice and millions of fans, so maybe you should do a little more than wear a t-shirt or just say that you care. Oh, but wait, if you do that, you’ll turn off the teenage girls and middle america that your career depends so much on.
Flick
Wow, Queerty is a cynical bunch. I would say give her the benefit of the doubt. I am not well versed in her music, but I have always been under the impression that she was pretty pro-gay.
Aquarelle
Katy Perry is sooooo pretty, I’m so thankful and grateful to her for her stand in favor of our community, I love you Katy!!!
Aquarelle
@Anthony: Katy Perry is one of the most powerful, influential women in the world. You should be THANKFUL to her for helping us.
Kayo
@DouggSeven: LMAAAAAAO
Kayo
@DouggSeven: last time I checked the hollywood mafia (movies), is a straight “family friendly” brainwashing machine? anyway, yeah i know what u mean tho.
Kayo
@Jay: I believe Obama is a true supporter of gay rights, but poor guy, he’s a black president, the entire republicans on his ass, he seriously cannot do everything he wants to do, he CANNOT, he’s just one man in the machine, you guys need to understand this. Just because he’s president doesn’t mean he doesn’t deal with major bulls*it. There’s a huge dark force working in the country, he’s one man who needs to strategize his moves in the fight.
Metalheadmike
Celebrity says something about gays or bisexuals, kneejerk reaction from Queerty readers, film at 11. There’s a certain rinse and repeat to all this that has become comforting. Anyway, when she’s talking at least she’s not singing.
Nina
@Aquarelle: Oh, god, here come the Katy-Cats.
Go listen to half her music and then tell me this is the woman you want standing up for you: the woman who thinks girls have to wear “Daisy Dukes” to be cute, that it’s okay to say things like “you’re so gay and you don’t even like boys,” that songs so autotuned you can’t even hear her actual voice anymore are good music.
Show me her It Gets Better video. Guess what: Gaga did one, Kesha did one, Adam Lambert did one, Justin Bieber the uberChristian did one, Obama and Hillary and Google employees and the head of Pixar Animation and millions of average people did one, Katy Perry never did one. Katy Perry has never raised money for gay kids (Gaga and Adam Lambert: check–they both work with The Trevor Project and Gaga has raised money for GLBT homeless shelters). Katy Perry has never actually stood up and said “LISTEN TO ME.” Just, oh, no, she’s praying for us.
Big. Deal.
Dre
Kayo-That’s the thing Obama is NOT black, he’s biracial/mixed race or a mulatto.
Tackle
@Dre: Obama himself would disagree with you. He considers HIMSELF black, and even checked black on his census form. And as far as being biracial: there is only one race, and I believe it’s the human race. And being mixed: that applies to every human on the planet. EVERY one is mixed. There is just different degrees of it.
Jare
Seriously? This lady is so fake! She uses LGBT issues for $$ only. Talks about how she supports marriage equality, yet eats at and publicly endorses Chick-Fil-A, who has given more than $2 Million to defeat marriage equality.
no one
Who is Katy Perry?
Misty
@Jay: Matthew Shepard-Robert Byrd Hate Crime laws prevention Act, Extending benefits to federal employees, extending hospital visitation rights, repealed DADT, declared DOMA unconstitutional and is fighting it now in the courts in the hopes that it will be struck down.
And all of this happened before he opened his mouth to support of marriage Equality.
I’m not asking for anyone to love this, but damn it give him credit where credit is due instead of being a troll accusing him of being lazy with all talk no action.