Katy Perry criticized after responding to fan's financial struggle with 'out-of-touch' message
Topics: Katy Perry, Celebrity, Social Media, Twitter
William Morgan
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Images
Topics: Katy Perry, Celebrity, Social Media, Twitter
Warning: This article contains reference to suicidal thoughts which some readers may find distressing.
Being one of the richest living musicians and a literal astronaut, it would probably be a stretch to describe pop superstar Katy Perry as down to Earth.
But even her own fans were somewhat shocked when they saw the 41-year-old I Kissed a Girl singer reply to a fan in dire financial straits with an utterly tone deaf message.
Perry superfan Ria shared on X how their personal difficulties might force them into selling their ticket, saying: "I so badly don’t wanna be here anymore. I’m not cut out for this world like I cannot afford to live at this rate and I’m so close to selling my Katy ticket."
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Yet the artist with an estimated net worth of $360 million, whose recent tour is believed to have raked in $134 million from tickets and who does not often reply on X, glibly replied: "But I am looking forward to seeing you!"
Naturally, after failing to offer any help whatsoever to the fan, lots of her other followers piled in to blast the artist as out of touch, which might be fair as she is currently dating the former Prime Minister of Canada.
One fan said: "God, you are so out of touch. Someone is clearly going through it and your best response is 'but im looking forward to seeing you!'. Gross. Do better."
While another pointed out: "If you 'loved her', you’d give her a VIP Meet and Greet Package and tell her to sell the ticket so she could have extra money to enjoy the show.
"This is so tone deaf lmao."
Many pointed out that plenty of her other fans having a hard time with their finances will see the out of touch tweet, with so many people around the world struggling due to rising gas prices and seemingly never ending global instability.
One blasted: "Wow Katy, you’re clearly so out of touch! You just keep living your out-of-touch high life while everyone else is barely able to afford essentials (food, rent, insurance)."
But it was not all negativity. A lot of Perry's followers argued that, in the social media world, you can never really win anyway. "You'd be calling her performative the second she helped publicly. You're just looking for a reason to be mad," they argued.
Meanwhile cash-strapped Ria did not seem upset by the popstar's glib reply, as they rushed to respond to their idol 'I love you'. Another person congratulated Ria on the interaction from their idol.
Ria replied 'Thank you, was needed and I’m grateful for it.’ And maybe some things are worth more than just money, as a day later the fan posted their thoughts on Katy Perry blowing up their mentions.
"Honestly didn’t expect to wake up to find Katy saw my tweet. How? I don’t know but I’m grateful and I hope it helps others too," they said.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.