I recently wrote about Katy Perry and her interest/fetishization with Asian culture, specifically Indian culture. Personally, I’ve give Katy a pass on some of it – she obviously loves India and Indian clothes and maybe even Indian people. But yeah, she’s often right on the line of fetishization and appropriation. I have a point, I promise! Katy Perry was just named the new ambassador for Prince Charles’ British Asian Trust charity. Yes. Go ahead and make the Scarlett Johansson jokes, everybody else did! To be fair, ScarJo has made it clear that she’s Japanese and should be allowed to play Japanese characters. Katy Perry just loves to wear Indian clothes & jewelry and ride elephants like she’s a maharaja. Also, how terrible does it look for Prince Charles that he named a white American woman to his Asian charity??
Pop star Katy Perry has been named by Britain’s Prince Charles as an ambassador of the British Asian Trust charity. Perry’s appointment, announced at the charity’s annual dinner in London Tuesday, comes after she met the prince in Mumbai last year and learned about the British Asian Trust’s work. The trust, founded by Prince Charles, is an international development charity that tackles poverty and inequality in South Asia. Perry will support the charity’s work to reduce child trafficking and abuse in India.
The American singer said in a statement that India had “long held a special place” in her heart, adding that she was honored “to be a part of finding solutions to child trafficking.” Perry, who is also a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations’ children’s agency, UNICEF, added: “Children are vulnerable and innocent and have to be protected.”
Other ambassadors at the British Asian Trust include the musician Naughty Boy and the broadcaster Nihal Arthanayake. The organization estimates that there are 5.8 million children in India who work as forced labor and believes that tens of thousands work in dangerous workshops in the city of Jaipur alone. The charity operates in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Again, though, why Katy Perry? There are so many Bollywood stars, there are British-Indian actors living in London, there are British-Pakistani celebrities living in England, etc. Why Katy, why specifically for this charity? The charity sounds fine, I guess, although I bet its work overlaps with dozens of other charities in India and Pakistan.
Things That Are A Bad Look: This Photo:
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
The Royal Family is more and more garbage. What a mess!
They have always been trash. Philip is notoriously racist, as is Elizabeth. Elizabeth has proved time and again that she views other women with pure disdain: Diana was SIXTEEN when Charles made his first move, and only 19 when she married. Liz pressured him to do that. She continues to protect and promote her RAPIST son. Charles is a nasty, abusive ass. William and Kate are both racist as well, but think that “letting” a bi-racial woman marry their bro makes them woke. Princess Michael actually dead-ass wore a racist brooch the night she met Meghan.
And I believe the vast, vast majority of negative articles and stories are being leaked by Fergie and Andrew. Their daughters are now being given bigger roles, which has been a HUGE sticking point for years. They also have a history of doing illegal, shady, horrible things to get what they want.
Pure white trash.
I think Meghan learned all of this early on and I think she and Harry had intense, serious, and direct conversations about this from the beginning. I imagine it has taken a great deal of therapy and Meghan going, “Look, you have seen what my fam is like. I know how hard it is to set boundaries. But just LOOK at them!” Harry once wore a Nazi uniform as a joke, and that somehow is LESS bad than the crap his family has done. Our girl rescued our prince from his nasty, abusive, broken home. No amount of wealth or privilege can protect us from being abused.
Ugh. I’m more annoyed she thought it was ok to accept it. And she needs to not normalize riding elephants if that’s truly something she’s doing for attention on her Instagram. That makes me like her even less 😒
This is terrible. I don’t know what Prince Charles is thinking at the moment. British/Asian culture is huge. It’s as intrenched in GB as Latino culture in the US. They go hand in hand and there are so many people who would have been perfect for this roll. Why on earth did he go with a white American who has zero ties (that I’m aware of) to the UK, aside from Orlando Bloom or Asian culture.
Sorry, Americans, I’m not trying to hate on you but it would be wired to appoint some British actress as an ambassador for Latino/American culture too.
As an American, I fully agree with you. It is a ridiculous choice and doesn’t really make sense.
Gwen Stefani wasn’t interested? Super weird choice.
LOL
Ha ha ! Well she moved on from Bindi’s to Harajuku.
Does she have any connection to that culture other than her own interest? Because this is not a great choice. I thought you would have chosen someone who is actually, well, Asian. It just seems very random to me.
Agree, weird choice.
Or at least British? A low-end bubblegum pop-star who lies about her boob-job? Please.
All kinds of celebrities are good will ambassadors for charities. The goal is to use their fame to raise awareness. Had anyone in the US even heard of this charity before Perry was named an ambassador?
This was the diversity that William was rallying for at the BAFTAs..
On social media people were asking wasn’t Scarlett Johansson available lol. People were also questioning why a high profile British Asian wasn’t considered. Hopefully the profile of the Trust& their work will be given a real boost as assuming that’s why she was chosen& she will do a good job.
Royals championing action against child trafficking is interesting given Andrew/Epstein& the visible support for Andrew. Also funny that working with an American& a celeb is fine for some royals.
I for one am glad that no high profile British Asian got involved in this mess.
The BRF meanwhile should finally start learning how to read a room, or, in this case, think about how this might come across in society. Their tone-deafness is incomparably bad.
There are several dozen high profile British Asian people who are also ambassadors. It is a legit charity.
Very clear there has always been one rule for Meghan and another for the rest of the family.
Also wasn’t it K Perry who had a snarky comment about Meghan’s wedding gown?
Yup….something about her dress being made of concrete….or something comparably rude and unnecessary. She’s trash.
Yes, “I would have gone for one more fitting,” not understanding the structure or the fabric of the dress. Had it been tighter Meghan wouldn’t have been able to move. It was fine.
I thought the cut of her dress was lovely, but the fabric was oddly stiff. The dress had no motion.
Meghan’s gown was exquisite and perfect for her sleek modern style. Not everything needs to be drowning in ruffles or beads. Or fluttery. Different fabrics have different qualities. For a reason. As a designer, I can tell you that was a very purposeful choice.
Her photos are going to look amazing & classic forever.
Whereas Ms Left Shark already looks ridiculous.
I kinda feel bad dragging her, because I know she was homeschooled and all. But, by now… gurl. Get ahead of it.
If she can be an Ambassador, then Harry and Meghan can be Commonwealth Ambassadors.
“Royals championing action against child trafficking is interesting given Andrew/Epstein& the visible support for Andrew.”
Noe Schitt Sherlock
“Also funny that working with an American& a celeb is fine for some royals.”
Do not ask me why but I never got the feeling Charles had any problem(s) with Meghan being a Yank, an actress, divorced or a biracial woman of color. I could be wrong but I never got that vibe off Chucky.
@Bay a lot of royals seem in their element mixing with famous people. my comment was aimed at the press who said Meghan’s wedding& appearance at the British Fashion awards etc was too ‘Hollywood’& said she only wanted to mix with celebs
Omg. Could the brf look any worse?
That’s the first time I read brf as barf
hahahaha!
Celebrity needed to boost the dead BRF brand.
What a circus!!! Maybe they thought she was a clown, because of all the face makeup she has on?
I don’t mind the make-up, but her hair! she looks like she is bald. Awful styling and overall awful look.
Homegirl’s hairline is receding. She needs to lay off the weaves and bleach. (Also: WTF even is all of this?!)
Scarlett Johansson is pissed, she played an Asian, you know?
White American… British Asian… Close enough, right?
I really thought the BRF works at least try and be a little bit smart about not being as racist in the wake of their treatment of Meghan.
When I saw this on Instagram, I thought it was a joke. Katy Perry is neither British nor Asian why did anyone think this was a good idea? Man , the Royal family PR people must really hate them.
She clearly bought this for herself. She must have donated a huge some of money to be given this.
*sum of money*
This whole thing is giving me icky colonizer vibes.
@Hope — DING DING DING ^^^^^^^^^
When something appears inexplicable, follow the money
You know what? You are probably right. Which only reignites by dislike for her. Katy has been pulling her cultural appropriation schtick for awhile now while claiming ignorance on the subject. Instead she’s just a entitled rich white woman who doesn’t care.
And it really doesn’t say much about what Charles thinks about British Asian relations if he’s willing to sell an ambassadorship like this.
The whole things is so insulting.
Prince Charles is an idiot.
Right? I’m amazed how many people (also on here) are giving him a pass. He is just like the rest of them, he is just more clever about hiding it. E.g. Charles has a history with pedo priest Peter Ball, but in hardly gets mentioned in the Andrew-Epstein stories, rather the opposite: Charles is portrayed as the guy saving the day and standing up to TQ etc.
He was also friends with Gary Glitter.
This seems so incredibly random and tone deaf.
Also, I always thought Prince Charles was tall for some reason!
Other than using Asian culture for her music, what ties does she have to Asian culture? Or British Asian culture?
Saw a great response on Twitter:
K Perry + wedding in India to Russell Brand =‘s Asian 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I can’t.
I get wanting a celebrity attached, but Katy Perry? There was no other celebrity (a British Asian celebrity) who would be interested in this??
Other than Naughty Boy and Nihal Arthanayake who are both British celebrities and are mentioned in the same article?
I just… What?
This is just….stupid. No other words for it just plainly stupid. WHO thought this was a good idea?!
WTF! This is so inappropriate. I didn’t mind KP as I thought she does love India and Asia but this is not her for her. I am part Indian and there are so many other worthy celebs that are British Indians/ S. Asian that have lived, studied or worked in the UK.
This is also a charity that Prince Charles could have involved his daughter-in-law in. The Duchess of Sussex has actually done charity work in India and wrote an editorial about it for Time Magazine before she married into the Royal Family. Yet another missed opportunity.
Priyanka Chopra would have been a much better choice.
Wasn’t there just a discussion of Katy’s fetishizing of Asian culture? Exhibit A.
For all her talk of growing and learning she’s still pulling this kind of crap. The BRF is racist garbage. We all know that. But Katy could have turned it down.
More and more I think the royals are tone deaf in every PR move they make.
You guys remember Mike Myer’s Linda Richman Coffee Talk sketches?
“The ambassador for the British Asian Trust is neither British nor Asian. Discuss.”
Lol these people!
Perry is NEITHER British or Asian, so what the flying fuck? There wasn’t one totally irrelevant Anglo-Asian popstar in either Britain OR Asia? Typical racist thinking, the ‘Johansson Rule’: there’s nothing that a person of colour can do that a White woman can’t do better.
Side note: Camilla is wearing the same VCA earrings Katie Keen wore two days ago.
Good catch! One story I read said they might have been borrowed from Camilla and it looks like they were right.
Eagle eye! actually Camilla’s whole outfit looks like sth Kate would wear.
Sharing earrings. Slightly ick factor, don’t care how many diamonds or disinfectant used. No thank you. They have plenty of jewels in the vault. Eww.
What? It’s metal. How many heads do you think those tiaras have sat upon? I’m sure a bit of purell can put it all to rights.
(Also, most infectious baddies have a very short lifespan. Otherwise we’d all be dead by now!)
@Some chick, don’t care. Seen too many ear piercing infections. I have my phobias about sharing stuff. Don’t get me started on dairy..lol
Katy Perry paid money into the Prince’s trust, just as George and Amal Clooney did and that Is why there is now an “Amal Clooney award”. All of these celebrities are dying for a knighthood- so they pour money into the prince’s trust and he slowly starts appointing them to “this and that“ with the eventual goal being: knighthood. That’s why there’s been silence from the Clooney camp and other formerly outspoken celebrities regarding Prince Harry and MM. Oprah? She was very quick to deny an interview. They all want to be knighted.
Absolutely this.
Exactly….nothing comes free. Prince Charles is very clever, you can’t get close to him without putting your hand in your pocket for something he supports. Nothing wrong with that tactic.
She’s…Neither!
Katy Perry is friendly with the Wendi Dengs and billionaires of the world so none of this surprises me.
It is odd the massively powerful people she yachts with. Has anyone else noticed this?
@David yes I have noticed the circles she mingles with. Orlando seems to have friends in very high places, hanging with oil tycoons, party on yachts etc and I am not sure how he knows these people.
@CLAIREJ
They are a motley crew and remind me of Onassis, Churchill, Taylor/Burton, and Kennedy clans all yachting together. Would Katy be our Maria Callas or Lee Radziwill? I mean there is a Niarchos too. They are all about their money, power, and prestige. Exactly what this trust is.
Also, this sounds silly and very conspiracy maybe, but Orlando Bloom. Where does this all come from? Maybe even before Miranda Kerr? We know models hang out with billionaires, but he didn’t get a spot on the Bling Ring’s radar for nothing. I will get a life now.
Katy Perry is just ridiculous. A lot of British Asians just find the whole thing absurd and the Royals look desperate. She strung out that whole feud thing with Taylor Swift way beyond its expiration date and was just too old for that nonsense. I really thought the shade on Meghan’s dress smacked of jealousy and pettiness, just for Perry to be talked about. Also, did not like how she forced a kiss on that young guy on American idol. He was really upset about it, and it was just gross and attention seeking. Let’s face it, the height of her career was doing Sesame Street with Elmo. That was classic.
Wait, what? There are no British Asians who could take this on? (Rhetorical question, of course.)
That’s like Trump and his appointment of non-Natives to Native American initiatives, without any input or consulting from the tribes.
Tone. Deaf.
i literally SCREAMED laughing in disapproval…. omg this is so bad.
White people, please make it make sense…
-signed, a confused black woman
Can’t make it make sense.
– signed, an equally confused white woman.
It’s all about cosplaying Indians these days with Katy Perry. But remember when she would perform in kimonos? So girl is both Indian and Japanese – what more can you ask for a British Asian trust ambassador?
They could’ve picked Dave patel, jameela jamil,zayn..etc!!! I cant believe they pick her!!
The cringy pictures doesnt show them in a good light especially after how they BULLIED Meghan for her “Hollywood” links now its qwhite alright for Charles🙄
She isn’t British or Asian. Wow great choice there Charles.
how effin dumb is katy perry? has she done the ancestry test to determine she’s got 0.0000000000001% indian blood in her or was it the recent Vogue India cover that convinced her “Yes white woman, you are now entitled to declare yourself a true desi and can represent that Trust!” utter morons all of them ☹
Holy smokes her hair looks painful. That’s all I got
“there are British-Indian actors living in London, there are British-Pakistani celebrities living in England”: they are British, we don’t define everyone by the country where their ancestors were born, to such an extent people thought it was racist for Sir Ben Kingsley to portray Gandhi because they had no idea of his ancestry
You think people in the UK aren’t defined by where they’re from?
Me thinks he chose with his other head.