Katy Perry pushes the boundaries
ON SUNDAY night’s episode of American Idol, an 18-year-old singer named Jonny Brenns auditioned with an original song called Blue Jeans. Judges Lionel Richie,
Luke Bryan and Katy Perry were impressed. Especially Perry.
“You got a face like Chet Baker. Very good-looking,” Perry said approvingly to the contestant. Then she smirked, looking away and rolling her eyes knowingly.
“Look at her!” Bryan exclaimed. Richie asked: “Will you stop flirting now?”
Perry ignored them. “It’s kind of like this sweet little sexy thing that you’ve got going on,” she told Brenns. She agreed with Bryan’s assessment that teenage girls would love him. “Eighteen-year-old girls would eat this up! If a 32-year-old cougar would eat it up…” Perry, 32, trailed off.
The scene was presented in good fun, as Richie and Bryan thought it was hilarious and the show promoted Brenns’s audition as an “American Idol showmance”. But as this continues a pattern of Perry flirting with male contestants, how will the pop star’s behaviour play out in a culture that is now hyper-aware of power dynamics in Hollywood?
Perry briefly caused an Internet storm after last week’s premiere of the costly revival of the hit Fox series that now airs on ABC, during a scene that seemed out of place in the #Metoo era. In the episode, 19-yearold contestant Benjamin Glaze told the judges he had never kissed a girl before. Perry motioned for him to give her a peck on the cheek – only to turn her face at the last second and kiss him on the lips.
Glaze toppled over in surprise as Bryan and Richie howled with laughter, and gave Perry high-fives. Glaze, who took the moment in stride, later told the New York Times that he was a “tad bit uncomfortable” because he wanted to save his first kiss for his first relationship.
Though Idol heavily promoted that moment leading up to the premiere, some viewers weren’t amused – pointing out that the same situation between a 30-something male judge and 19-year-old female contestant would not have been played for laughs (sample comment on Twitter: “Anyone else watching Idol feel like Katy Perry pressured that poor kid into letting her kiss him on the cheek and violated him by planting one on his lips? Would not have been okay for a male celebrity to do to a young girl. #americanidol #katyperry #mencanbesexuallyharassedtoo”)
An ABC spokeswoman declined to comment, and Perry’s publicist did not return a request for comment. However, as the situation spiralled last week, Glaze took to Instagram to clarify that “I do not think I was sexually harassed by Katy Perry and I am thankful for the judges comments and critiques”.
On the second night of Idol’s two-part premiere last Monday, the show really leaned into Perry’s flirtatious side. The episode featured an audition with 27-year-old construction worker Trevor Holmes, who admitted that Perry was his celebrity crush.
The feeling became mutual when Holmes appeared in front of the judges.
Bryan labelled him a “dreamboat” while Perry went with “You’re so hot”. – The Washington Post