Katy Perry covers the March issue of Elle in conjunction with her Super Bowl extravaganza and Billboard cover. The Grammys are coming up in a few days, so this must be the week of Katy. She’s nominated for both “Dark Horse” and Prism.
This Elle cover is muted but quite pretty. Katy’s wearing a Giambattista Valli top and skirt with Chanel and Graziela Germs jewelry. Elle notes how Katy chose to wear her own nose ring. The interview was rather extensive (for Elle) and lasted three days in Australia. The journo, Amanda FitzSimons, calls Katy “eloquent, intensely likeable, and smart.” I won’t call Katy dumb, but she seems much more savvy than smart. She’s a shrewd businesswoman, which is more valuable than simply being smart. Here’s some excerpts.
On total control: “In my show, I am boss daddy. I am boss mommy. They call me Boss. Everything goes through my eyes; I call all the shots, 100 percent of it. With the NFL, I have to be accountable to several levels of red tape. There are many committees I have to go through for my costumes, the budgets of my show, every interview—everything, I have to report to somebody. So I am no longer the boss; I have to relinquish that control. We love this opportunity, but once you decide you’re gonna do the Super Bowl, you’re gonna have no f***ing life for six months. It is the biggest thing. Anyone that’s ever done it has been scared sh*tless. You stay off the Internet for the five days afterward.”
On her contemporaries: “Oh my God. I’m such a big Beyonce fan. Beyonce just put out a video! You’ve got to see this video I was like, Finallllly. Finally I see you. I don’t see some propaganda version of you. I see you. I relate to who you are.”
On being a pop star: “It is a hundred times harder a dream than the dream that I dreamt when I was nine … You think you signed up for one thing, but you automatically sign up for a hundred others. And that is why you see people shaving their f***ing heads.”
If pop stars were in a soap opra: “You’ve got to name someone the villain, someone the princess, someone the mom-, the dad-type–you know there always have to be characters. As pop figures, we’re all characters. And the media uses that. Who is the sweetheart, who is the villain? You know. Taylor’s the sweetheart. Kanye’s the villain. That’s the narrative.”
[From Elle]
Now there’s a dig against Taylor. Katy’s calling her frenemy out for playing the role of the cutesey sweetheart, and that’s the best Katy can do. The silly feud is alive and well, but don’t tell Kanye he’s the villain. He’d be flattered. Did you catch the “propaganda” remark about Beyonce? Ouch.
Photos courtesy of Elle & WENN
Love the sheet music dress!
+1
Too bad it’s in a language she can’t read
Oh SNAP!
Doesn’t she play the guitar?
Gooood!
It’s true. She plays the innocent princess well, but at what age is she going to give it up? Girl is 25, how long will she play the special snowflake?
“special snowflake” Hahahaha!!! I’m totally using this in the future.
See, I don’t even find Taylor plays the princess role so much now. She’s been a lot more quiet. She says some dumb shit, but she’s been smart enough to not react to Katy and Diplo’s constant comments as of late. I really don’t get their obsession with her. She wasn’t asked directly about Taylor. She was the one who named names. She could have just stopped before naming people and it’d have been a perfectly fine quote.
At the very least, she plays it no more than Katy plays the “ZOMG Guys I’m so RILL. I’m so different!” Katy who prances around in cupcake bras and dropping f-bombs to seem like she’s so much edgier than she is. Katy is just as fabricated as any other pop star, and it’s almost more grating because she tries to act like she’s so above it all.
^^Yep this.
Agree with you. Why do they have to bring her up again and again? Oh and the villain is clearly Katy herself – at least when it comes down to dumbness!
Just as fabricated as every other pop star? I disagree. She’s the most fabricated of them all. Everything about her is just so obviously designed to sell and catch attention. She’s just so fake. Sometimes I think she’s literally made of plastic.
I agree, Erinn.
right, katy’s a hypocrite. she plays the sexy, cutesy, sassy, girl’s girl. she’s so fake, she reeks of it, so it’s hilarious she’s says taylor’s fake.
Swift’s email was hacked and she’s not playing any role. She is actually a sweetheart who makes an effort to maintain her (celeb) friendships. This is why she shrugged off the hacking, she has nothing to hide. So I actually prefer her than somebody like Perry who always plays roles and relies on gimmicks to stay relevant.
There was a blind that intimated that the hack was a fake, FWIW.
I’m with Erin. I think the “princess” comment is way off, and it goes to show why Taylor has stolen the pop title from Katy Perry. Tay Tay may play like the girl next door, but she’s certainly not pretending to be sweet and innocent anymore. More family friendly, maybe, but not G-rate Disney. She’s been shaping that image around being the adult woman whose life is defined by meaningful female relationships rather than childish romantic fantasies, and who has put herself out there as the HBIC of her label. She’s not some little girl here to strum the guitar and write about boyfriends – she’s a businesswoman with a very successful label who is here to make a splash.
Ohhh gurrrrl. You’re getting yourself into some deep trouble.
Taylor may seem like a purry kitten but I’m sure behind closed doors she is a nasty bitch.
You signed up for a twitter battle.
I am ready with some butter popcorns!
I read “butter unicorns”! That’s what my brain gives to me in a sentence with “Taylor Swift” on it 😀
I’m side-eyeing the comment about shaved heads, as in a jab at Britney?
I was thinking the same thing
Yep, definitely talking about Britney. I cannot believe “Dark Horse” was nominated. That song was god awful. Just absolute garbage. Bleh.
I don’t think she meant to shade Britney. I think she was taking Britney’s side for what happened. Too much on her plate and she didn’t know how to deal with it. I think Katy is blaming the obsession over celebrities here and the invasion of their privacy.
@Paola That’s how I read the comment too — not shading Britney but having sympathy for what that poor girl has gone through.
+2 that’s how I read it also.
That’s what I took away from it, too.
I don’t know…using Britney as an example is kind of presumptive, because she is assuming she knows what Britney’s mental issues are and the cause of them.
I think she could have easily made a point about the possibility for people to breakdown after years of intense pressure without using another specific person’s anguish as an example.
She actually named Britney in the whole interview. I think she was talking about fame and how it is difficult to maintain one’s sanity when you are a famous popstar. No shade.
I think her intention was to back Britney up, but Britney is such a feeble creature, I just wish people would leave her alone and not make her mental breakdown a part of their own story.
“Feeble”? Really? She has mental and emotional issues ,but she’s not feeble.
Yeah, there’s a massive difference between having a temporary stress-related meltdown (can happen to anyone) and a long-term mental illness (albeit possibly triggered by stress).
I don’t see the shaved head comment as a jab at Brit at all. If anything, more like she is saying, “girl, this shit is crazy. I get it. I totally get it and can’t blame you.” Like there’s stuff we can’t see that makes it totally understandable, and their world is crazy, it’s not just Britney.
I would call KP ‘street smart’, the street here being the business…she seems to know how the game is played and plays it well. Feud or no feud, I totally agree with Taylor Swift = cutesy sweetheart and yep I do feel like that’s TS’s schtick.
I agree.
But Kanye West isn’t the villain. He’s the batshit crazy guy.
I think Katy was saying that Britney is the baths8t crazy one – Hmmmm, casting for this soap opera is going to keep me up. Bieber as the villain? Harry styles as the mysterious newcomer to town who takes care of his mom and should be with TSwift but ends up dating everyone behind her back? Oh the dramz to be had!
Kanye would make a better Penguin. His little stick-up=my=ass routine, blatting and squawking away at everything and nothing.
Maybe it’s her tone of voice when she speaks, but she comes across as dumb to me. You can call it street smart if you want, but a stupid popstar by any other name is still an idiot…
+1. I’m not a fan, but she seems to be self-aware about being a manufactured pop star. But honestly, she should really stop talking about Swift; nothing good can come out of it for Perry.
She’s too boring to have a label.
Can we get a nice, long break from Taylor Swift? Like come on. Stop mentioning her and maybe the lack of attention will make her dry up or something. I know Katy was prompted but it’s like just say no.
Nope, she wasn’t prompted at all actually.
She had to name-drop Swifty, shade Beyoncé, and mock Britney Spears because that’s how she stays relevant.
Exactly , Katy Perry is a nasty , petty passive aggressive a-hole .
Who has no friends in the business . She was good friends with Rihanna years ago, but they barely talk and Perry shaded her in interviews same with Miley , who called her on it.
Taylor Swift actually very good friends with many people in the business and I like that she called out fake ass Perry , if you read Swift’s interview .
She said she thought they were friends , but later she would find out from people that the “person” would talk behind her back, until she realized the person was doing more then just talking they were activity making moves against her.
Since she ran out of excuses to talk about her old marriage, she has now shifted strategies to name drop other celebs to get headlines.
Exactly Tiffany. She simply does not know the concept of “taking the high road”.
I think people forget that it was actually Taylor that started this so called feud. She brought it up for attention, but when Katy does the same, she’s called pathetic. I know Taylor has a lot of loyal fans but sheesh.
Alexandra, just because people don’t like Katy doesn’t mean they are Swift fans, it just means they don’t like Katy.
You have to admit, Katy has a tendency to drop names in her interviews. Taylor and Kanye and Britney aren’t the first, just the latest.
Taylor drops personal info too, but she does it mostly in her music less frequently in her interviews, which doesn’t irritate me quite as much.
@Tiffany, Let me start off by saying I don’t like either girl. But you have to admit, Taylor fans, especially on this site, can get really nasty when they try to defend her. I think Katy def name drops but so does Taylor. I think Taylor does it even more frequently. For most of her career, that was her focus… name dropping her famous ex boyfriends to get music sales. And her celeb “friends” are showcased all the time on her Instagram and Twitter.
I don’t think Katy is any better than Taylor, I’m just pointing out Taylor’s flaws because it seems like this thread kind of detailed from the fact that Ms. Swift started this.
When “fans” get nasty on the internet, I don’t place the blame at the feet of the artist. People of all kinds get nasty on the internet, and they don’t even need to subscribe to a certain fandom in order to do so. I haven’t seen Taylor fans be mean on this site…but to be honest, I don’t really see Taylor fans period on this site (her cats on the other hand have tons of fans! 🙂 ). Not saying the nastiness doesn’t happen, but I can’t say that I have witnessed it.
I completely agree that Taylor has some marketing strategies that I side eye (like putting clues in liner notes in capital letters to spell out things like MAPLE LATTES. So Lame!). But honestly I think that Taylor makes catchy enough music that she doesn’t need to drop hints like that, the music would sell on its own. She seems to be growing out of that, hopefully it continues.
With this particular feud, I think Katy is using a losing strategy. Taylor set the bait, but she didn’t name names. Katy took the bait and is still feeding the story long after people have stopped caring, and I think it makes her look weaker for it.
@Tiffany I definitely don’t blame Taylor or any other artist for what their fans say. I have seen some snarky comments but what can you do? I really don’t like Taylor, but I will admit she does make catchy music, which is why I get so annoyed when she constantly tries to get media attention (pap walks, PR relationships, tons of celeb friendships that she brags about). She doesn’t need that stuff to be popular, and I think that’s why she gets on my nerves so much. Too much Taylor.
You are right though. However cleverly and immaturely Taylor went about this feud in the beginning, it’s becoming apparent that Katy can’t win this. I don’t think its because she keeps bringing it up, I think it’s because Taylor has too many loyal fans. The only way she’d win it is if she pulls something super scandalous out of Taylor’s closet. Which I don’t think exists, as girl is as plain as dry toast.
Yes ma’am!! You get it!
What is this feud with Taylor Swift all about? Katy is throwing some shade at Beyonce too.
As for the “Boss” remark, there is a blind item about a diva singer pitching a fit and throwing out all the food set out for her crew. Because she did not want to be tempted by it as she was on a healthy food diet. The crew had no food to eat. The popular guess was Katy Perry
I think people that hate Beyonce are projecting their hate onto Katies remark. She is a certified member of the Beyhive, going by her tweets over the last few years. All she is saying is that the goofy 7-11 video is closer to who Beyonce really is than the sassy, glammed up persona.
Big deal, ALL these artists have a persona for their branding. Sometimes its just an exaggeration of their real self like Rihannas ratchet & weed ways or Taylor and her girls-girl thing. And sometimes the real artist is completely different from the brand, and by all accounts this is Beyonce. Shes quiet, shy and probably more playful than her image suggests. Katies saying that she enjoyed seeing that side of her in a video. I see no diss, actually what I see is a big Beyonce fan.
Good point
We know Katy Perry’s not the sharpest knife but even she knows using the word propaganda in reference to someone else’s image isn’t complimentary .
And really let’s blame the person reading her words for hidden motives and not take at face value the words someone choices to use….sit down
I guess she’s not a cake boss.
hahhahahahhaa
I laughed at your point re: Kanye being happy about being the villain, but I don’t think it’s true. He probably sees himself as an anti-hero a’ la Jaime Lannister in “Game of Thrones”. Arrogant and vain, sure, but misunderstood and secretly a lot nicer than his reputation.
well, then I’m glad he doesn’t have a sister…
Katy didn’t call out Taylor. She’s talking about the media giving roles to people. That’s why Kanye is the villain.
Yes the media should have made Talor Swift the villain… It’s her fault that at 19 she was winning her first MTV award and how dare she or anyone take offence to a grow ass man twice her age intruputing her acceptance speech to tell her and the world that HE thought she wasn’t worthy of the award .
And why the f–K is Perry bringing up something that had nothing to do with her 7 years after the fact…. Oh because she was desperate to name drop Taylor Swift .
When I read the propaganda remark, I thought, “Girl, you may want to check yourself.” It would be one thing if Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, or Chrissie Hynde had said that about Beyonce, but for Katy Perry to congratulate Bey for finally being her true self or whatever- Honey, please. This is why Katy irks the crap out of me- she blatantly steals from other artists, gives no credit to them, and then acts like she is the first to do it or promote or think it or act it or whatever. She thinks she is original, but she herself is just a product of the silly propaganda machine.
They didn’t want to be associated with the nose ring. “Make sure you tell readers that that nose ring wasn’t our idea.” lol
HA!
A few years ago a co-worker was getting a nose ring and was trying to talk me into getting one with her…I didn’t want to insult her taste or style, but there was no way in hell I was going to put a gold bugger on the outside of my nose. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I pretended to be scared of the pain. 😉 That lacked courage, I know.
I like that she isn’t passive aggressive.
And she can be Princess’s evil sister.
Katy fed into this narrative as well! Then she quickly backtracked so she could use him to make her otherwise terrible song at least somewhat likable. She’s not the innocent observer she pretends to be… http://www.mtv.com/news/1621416/katy-perry-pink-hayley-williams-bash-kanye-wests-vma-rant/
Looks like Taylor was right — everything she says is backhanded with a smile.
Yep. She’s managed to take a swipe at Beyonce for not being authentic? I mean, really Katy? You went there? Oh, girl…
Yep. And I’ve never been team Swifty but she seems to be growing and maturing. Katy, not so much.
Katy should watch who she rubs the wrong way… her vocal ‘skills’ are mediocre at absolute best, she can’t dance and word on the street she loves to party with pills and powders. She’ll be begging Taylor for a duet in 5 year’s time!
Pride comes before the fall, Katy!
not to sure about her petri-dish-and-things-that-grow-in-a-lab inspired dress in the cover.
No humility, insincere, catty, vindictive and minimally talented…no amount of boob frosting can make me like this one.
I can’t.
Why is she still here?
Two things: I don´t like the nose ring and I don´t like the bad language.
Every time I see her all I can think about is how absolutely wack-a-doo Russell Brand is…AND HE LEFT HER. How guano crazy do you have to be for RB to be wigged out by your behavior?
I will say this. Russell Brand is intelligent.
Agreed. I do not dislike Russell, I think he has several good qualities. He has been very open about his struggles and issues–some were quite serious. Imho, he ended the relationship for a very good reason.
I love Russell Brand. When he married Katy Perry I figured there must be more to her than meets the eye. There isn’t. She is cupcake bewbs and dancing sharks.
I don’t like her- she’s a fake. Overrated- and always taking swipes at people while pretending to be empowering.
Kanye is only the villain because he made himself one. No one like vanity-this man is obviously narcissistic but we are wrong for making him the villain? I’m sick of the public being wrong when the celebrity dictates public opinion. Don’t be a jerk, and you won’t be considered a villain.
LOL re: The Narrative. She’s absolutely right though.
Talking about Taylor swift AGAIN? Give. It. Up. Already. She’s really embarrassing herself.
I want to pull a Derek Zoolander on this woman. STOP SLICKING YOUR HAIR BACK KATY.
Katy knows how to manage her career, hence why she’s the best selling singer right now despite making the most awful music.
As for the guys saying sweet princess Swifty is no less than Satan in disguise – wouldn’t we have more rumors about it if it were true? Everytime a celeb (especially women) displays the tiniest diva-like behavior media outlets go mad about it. Remember all the articles about Ariana Grande? Yeah. So, what’s your basis to say Taylor is a disgusting bitch deep inside other than your cynism?
Actually her last album had awful sales , her first week sales for Prism were 260 thousand , for someone of her name and a hit first single, that was embarrassing numbers
It’s been out for over a year and sold 2.1 million , Taylor Swift album out for 4 months and she sold 4.5 million .
All Katy Perry has is some hit singles and if you look up the songs there are committee number of people listed has writers .
The girl should have more humility but she too much of narasstic and idiot to realize that.
“Every time a celeb (especially women) displays the tiniest diva-like behavior media outlets go mad about it. ”
This is very true- all it takes when you’re a public figure, and especially a woman, is one or two minor a$$hole moments to be seen, then suddenly the rumor mill gets going and you can get a reputation as a complete raging a$$hole and people will believe without question that that’s exactly what you are, true or not. And people will actually get mad at or judge someone for doing something without even knowing that they actually did it.
I believe that we all have occasional moments when we’re demanding or rude. Nobody’s nice all the time. I do believe that Taylor Swift has those moments and is oversensitive to criticism, but I don’t know if I believe she’s a super bi*ch. And the ‘she’s a raging diva/jerk’ rumor is one that gets spread about literally every successful female celebrity. I don’t think I can name one who I haven’t heard that about.
Love her earring on the cover. I can tolerate her nose ring but I DESPISE the septum ones.
Ugh SHUT UP Katy Perry is the only thing I can muster up for Katy. Maybe if you put out better music than just ish you find on pinterest, maybe, MAYBE, you might be as popular as Tay-Tay.
She is so manufactured, I suspect that there is a MATTEL stamp on her ass. And, yet….she may not be smart, but she sure knows the game and ow to manipulate it. That Superbowl acid-laced cupcake sh*t was horrendous. I wonder how much of it was her and how much was the show planners? There is one good thing that came out of it, though. Shark Sinister is now a star in my sky! Shark Sinister 4Eva!
everytime i see a picture of her, i just think ‘two boobs surrounded by a hideous barely-there costume’. From a talent stand point, does she have any? I’m not an expert, but her vocal range seems very mediocre when compared to rihanna or mariah. Does she write her own music or is she one of those that buys music from real musicians and makes it her own?
I just don’t see the talent. And if it wasnt for the cleavage and over-the-top media, she’d be irrelevant…
They’re all completely nuts. And if Kanye is the villian, he’s cultivTed that role for himself and he actually seems to like it.
So Taylor is the sweetheart/princess, Kanye the villian. Who’s the “mom” and the “dad” And what role is Katy filling? And on a soap you always have to have one that’s certifiably crazy.
It is a high school soap opera & I think Katy is the “used to be nerd but blossomed into a popular girl & shuns/mean girls all the nerds she used to hang out with”. She reminds me of a bitchy version of Lindsay Weir.
I agree with her point about pop stars playing “roles,” though I think she misses the underlying reality that such labels really only apply to women and non-whites. White men can be anything in industry. Everybody else has to play the game tougher and harder.
I also get the feeling she’s taking a note from Tay’s playbook about putting yourself out there as The Boss where your career is concerned. Whether or not this works for her will be interesting.
I don’t think her comment about Britney was shade. Her comment about Beyonce seemed to be slightly unintentional shade, and it was surprising coming from her. I think Beyonce is more of an authentic artist than Katy Perry. Her comment about Taylor seemed to be suggesting that even though she’s been assigned the role of sweetheart, that’s not who she really is. When Katy Perry first started becoming big, I thought she’d be more of a flash in the pan. I thought that after 2 or 3 years, we wouldn’t be seeing her anymore. She’s been more successful than I expected- this is her 6th or 7th year. I still think Taylor Swift has more staying power though.