KATY Perry has ditched her American Idol duties by order of King Charles and dashed across the pond for his star-studded coronation concert.
While Katy has been known to hit the headlines for the wrong reasons, a PR expert has said she’s set for a warm welcome in Windsor, given her “massive appeal.”
Recently, King Charles’s coronation concert request list was rearranged given rejections from A-listers like Adele, Harry Styles, and the Spice Girls.
When the freshly-appointed king’s coronation team looked further afield, it was US celebs Lionel Richie and Katy Perry, 38, who stepped up to the plate.
Now the mom-of-one is to perform on stage at Windsor Castle in front of 20,000 people alongside Brit boyband Take That and opera sensation Andrea Bocelli.
But while many KatyCats will be thrilled to see their idol serenading the new British monarch, other pop lovers stateside might have questioned Charles’ choice.
In an exclusive interview, reputation expert Lauren Beeching told The U.S. Sun: “Katy’s appeal has already been there for King Charles so the choice for him would have been easy.
“To most people, Katy’s reputation is clean now, and she’s still known and loved globally.
“She’d promised to sing to the then Prince of Wales as she was named a new ambassador for his British Asian Trust.
“Because of this connection and their seemingly lovely relationship with one another, he was always a fan of Katy.
“The UK prime minister has also commented on her being chosen, but I’d never had Rishi Sunak down as a KatyCat.”
Katy’s massive pop career has seen her sell over 57 million albums globally, with legions of fans adoring every track.
She has amassed numerous accolades including Brits and Billboard awards, while securing a high-profile TV gig on American Idol and voicing a movie part in The Smurfs.
But the songwriter and TV star also appears to have managed some controversy through the years.
These range from alleged sexual assault to rumored feuds with Taylor Swift, a fashion faux pas or two, and others.
“Despite her batting off issues in the past, if you mention Katy Perry now, controversy wouldn’t be the first thing to come to mind,” said Lauren.
“For example, I Kissed a Girl came out in 2008, so it’s been 14 years, and she hasn’t ever been in a big crisis.
“Katy continues to have a massive appeal to a range of people of different ages across the world.
“Her music and performances are unique compared to other artists, and her Super Bowl performance showed this as well.
“She has also been incredibly smart in her collaborative songs with some relevant artists.
“Katy works hard to keep a positive and happy image.
“This makes it harder for people to dislike her despite any issues.
“Otherwise, her worst reputation disaster before now would depend on who you ask.
“Taylor Swift and Britney Spears fans would express the feuds between the artists.
“There’s also her past collaborative decisions with seemingly controversial artists, brands, and designers.
“But Katy’s most damaging reputational risks perhaps address more serious allegations.
“Some are way back and even when she released her debut single.”
KISSING GIRLS
In 2008, Katy, then 23, shot to fame after her first single, I Kissed a Girl was released.
At the time the LGBTQ community said her track was homophobic.
While others didn’t like the song because it was about women kissing women, yet the video didn’t show the fact.
“This issue was seemingly when most people had just discovered Katy,” explained Lauren.
“Her reputation was overly optimistic at the start of her career and there was mild controversy surrounding this song.
“But that blew over incredibly fast and Katy fast became a vast and prevalent artist.”
In 2018 Katy told Glamour magazine if she could rewrite the breakthrough hit, she would.
She also admitted that the lyrics contained “a couple of stereotypes”.
RUSSELL & BLOOM
The Fireworks singer’s whirlwind marriage to British comedian Russell Brand ended in tears after a year when he dumped Katy via text.
Katy started dating Orlando Bloom in 2016. The Lord of the Rings star proposed on Valentine’s Day 2018.
Orlando and Katy have yet to tie the knot, but welcomed their first child Daisy Dove, in August 2020.
“With Russell and Katy’s snap marriage, this was generally accepted until Katy’s documentary came out,” added Lauren.
“This was probably damaging to Russell’s reputation more than Katy’s.
“In addition, she’s still incredibly beautiful, a huge selling point in the industry.
“Katy has also been somewhat open about her love life and even now with Orlando.”
In 2016 Orlando was photographed paddleboarding naked with Katy sitting in front wearing a bikini.
Four years after the Pirates of the Caribbean’s Med papp shot whipped up a storm online, Katy responded.
In 2020 she told Howard Stern: “Everywhere we looked, it was like everybody was naked, it was Europe. It was Italy. And I think he wanted to fit in with the locals, and it was the end of the trip,” she explained.
“The paddle boat image gave them harmless public attention, with mild scrutiny, ” explained Lauren.
“I think as a couple they come across well and Katy says they are happy together.
“This will forever draw people in and keep them interested.”
SWIFTIE ISSUES
Taylor Swift and Katy had always been good friends but by 2014 rumors circulated that they were arguing over their backup dancers.
Three had supposedly deserted Taylor’s Red album tour to work with Katy on her Prismatic tour.
That September Swift told Rolling Stone mag that her track Bad Blood was about another female pop star – leading some fans to suspect it was Katy.
“This was, of course, in the grand scheme of things, incredibly mellow,” explained Lauren.
“I feel fans of artists like Taylor Swift simply enjoy the drama and make ‘feuds’ into more significant things than they are.
“It’s lighthearted and easy PR for both involved.”
ALLEGED KISSES
Katy has been called out for alleged sexual misconduct in the past.
In 2018, she was accused of allegedly assaulting model Josh Kloss at a party after he’d worked with her on the 2010 music video Teenage Dream.
A Russian journalist also claimed that same summer that Perry had attempted to kiss her at a party.
In an interview with The Guardian in 2020, Perry said: “I don’t want to add to the noise. I want to add to the truth, basically.”
Of the allegations, she added: “I don’t comment on all the things that are said about me because if I chase that dragon, it would be about true and false-ing my whole life. It’s distracting from the real movement.”
“This wasn’t a good time for Katy, and one that she still likely remembers,” said Lauren.
“From a PR perspective, I feel there wasn’t much more Katy’s team could have done with this.”
AMERICAN IDOL
A few sagas brewed on American Idol surrounding Katy, with one involving Season 21 contestant Sara Beth Liebe.
In April viewers were said to be stunned after watching Katy’s behavior towards the 25-year-old mom.
The contestant had told the judges she felt homesick and also that she was a mom of three.
Katy had said: “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much!”
Liebe left the show and went home to her family.
“I think this will be forgotten in a week and wouldn’t necessarily impact her fan base in the UK.”
RACISM & ANTISEMITISM
Music producer Million Dollar Mano tweeted in 2013 that Katy had used the N-word at a nightclub in Paris.
In 2017, Katy opted to wear a dress at the Met Gala by the designer, John Galliano.
The designer had been fired from the brand in 2011 for an antisemitic rant.
In 2019, Katy’s shoe brand pulled freshly-designed shoes after people said they resembled blackface.
The one pair had blue eyes with bright red lips on black leather.
At the time, Katy said her shoes, The Rue and The Ora had been “envisioned as a nod to modern art and surrealism”.
In 2020, Katy was forced to apologize when she sported a head of cornrows for the video for This Is How We Do.
“This is her most severe case of reputation damage,” explained Lauren.
“This will most likely follow and be mentioned to her for the remainder of her career.”
In 2017 Katy addressed the cornrows and said: “I listened and I heard and I didn’t know, and I won’t ever understand some of those things because of who I am.”
The pop star added: “I will never understand, but I can educate myself and that’s what I’m trying to do along the way.”
PLAGIARISM
Katy’s huge hit, Roar, attracted significant criticism in 2013 when people spotted similarities with Sara Bareilles’ song, Brave.
At the time Katy’s producer told RadarOnline that Roar was written and recorded well before Brave was released.
Katy said on Twitter: “Secretly… I love how when I wrote #ROAR I was just trying to write a song about being a mega cat lady. Shhh, don’t tell anyone.”
Meanwhile, Sara and Katy became friends and even discussed the rumors.
“I feel most artists have an issue with plagiarism at some point in their career, but again, not a big deal,” said Lauren.
DAHMER DISASTER
A decade after the 2013 release of Dark Horse, Katy faced backlash over her lyrics given the ensuing Netflix series release.
The song features a verse by Juicy J that goes: “Uh, she’s a beast. I call her Karma.
“She eats your heart out like Jeffrey Dahmer.”
“Katy got a lot of hateful mentions and anger,” added Lauren.
“The mention of Dahmer in her song ‘Dark Horse’ went viral.
“It was a mix of offense as anyone in the public eye who has ever mentioned Jeffrey Dahmer in the past was being scrutinized on platforms like TikTok.
“I feel Katy got away with this as the song is not new and it was not herself singing the line, it’s old and done essentially.”