Pop star Katy Perry has received some negative attention (not enough) for her disturbing battle with elderly nuns over a property, a former convent, in Los Angeles. But Perry’s suspect actions don’t come close to ending there.
Here’s a list of five jarring moves from the sometimes-malfunctioning 39-year-old “Teenage Dream” singer:
‘Blood On Her Hands’
Perry in 2015 tried to buy a property in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles that was previously bought and used as a convent and public place of prayer by some 50 nuns known as the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to sell the property to the singer without the remaining living nuns’ consent. The nuns, in fact, felt very strongly that they did not want Perry to acquire the property after looking her up online, specifically referencing a video where the entertainer quips about selling her soul to the devil for fame.
“In selling to Katy Perry, we feel we are being forced to violate our canonical vows to the Catholic Church,” Sister Catherine Rose Holzman said in 2015. Sister Rita Callanan also commented publicly, “I thought, is that a way to make money?”
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Perry attempted to win over the nuns through a personal meeting where she sang gospel music and showed the sisters a tattoo on her wrist that says “Jesus.” They were not won over, and quickly moved to sell to another person, Dana Hollister, whom they did feel comfortable buying the property, in part because Hollister would turn the convent into a hotel, which the public could still have access to.
In response, the archdiocese sued the two nuns, arguing that Perry deserves the property. And Perry sued Hollister for interfering with her purchase. A judge decided against the sisters and Hollister, who was being targeted for even further punitive damages from the ordeal.
The nuns begged Perry to stop going after them and Hollister, but Perry did not relent.
Hollister, shortly after, had to declare bankruptcy, and the two nuns accompanied her in court to show their support. Outside the courtroom, Sister Rose pleaded, “Katy Perry, please stop. It’s not doing anyone any good except hurting a lot of people.” Hours later, the sister collapsed and died inside the courtroom. Sister Callanan said publicly that Perry “has blood on her hands.”
The court outcome said Perry could have the property after Vatican approval. It’s still unclear if she’s received such approval.
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
‘I Was Uncomfortable Immediately’
In 2018, Perry kissed a young man without his consent on live television – an action that would have set the media on fire had the genders in this situation been reversed. Perry was acting as a judge on “American Idol” when a 19-year-old contestant named Benjamin Glaze was talking about his job as a cashier. Fellow judge Luke Bryan jokingly asked Glaze if he had ever “kissed a girl and liked it” – a reference to one of Perry’s hit songs. Perry then had Glaze kiss her on the cheek. She asked him for another peck, but tricked him by turning her head so the boy was locking lips with the pop singer.
“Would I have done it if she (Perry) said, ‘Would you kiss me?’ No, I would have said no,” Glaze admitted to The New York Times in the aftermath of the incident. “I know a lot of guys would be like, ‘Heck yeah!’ But for me, I was raised in a conservative family and I was uncomfortable immediately. I wanted my first kiss to be special.”
Glaze was so shaken up by the experience he spoke to his friends about it, and they reassured him that it was technically not his first kiss, since it wasn’t romantic. “It was lip contact versus a romantic situation with someone you care about,” Glaze said. “That’s what a real first kiss is.”
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Mom-Shaming Bully
Earlier this year, Perry made waves for bullying and mom-shaming “American Idol” contestant Sara Beth Liebe. Before her audition, Liebe revealed that she had borne three children by the time she was 25-years-old. That prompted Perry to pretend she was going to faint. Liebe commented, “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out,” to which Perry replied, “Honey, you been laying on the table too much.”
The awkward moment clearly made Liebe uncomfortable, but for good measure, Perry closed by telling the young mother, “Look, if it’s not your dream, you’re not gonna go far.” The comment was taken by some as a scolding from Perry because Liebe prioritized motherhood at a young age.
As for Liebe, she addressed Perry’s remarks online: “I don’t really have too much to say on my feelings about it because I feel like it’s probably pretty self-explanatory,” she said. “I mean, it was embarrassing to have that on TV and it was hurtful and you know, that’s that. But I did want to take this opportunity to just say that I think that women supporting and uplifting other women is so cool and I think that mom-shaming is super lame and I think that it’s hard enough to be a mom and it’s hard enough to be a woman. And I also wanted to take this opportunity to say that I see all of the young moms and just moms in general who have commented on all of the videos and posts and everything and I just wanted to say that I see you and I hear you and I am grateful for you and you’re worthy and keep loving your babies.”
“Nobody deserves to feel crappy about that,” she declared. “Like I mean, bottom line, I don’t think there’s anything really more to it. And I think if you’re a good mama and you love your babies that’s all that really matters and other comments just don’t feel necessary and that’s all I have to say on the matter.”
Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images
Target: Elderly Vet With A Brain Disease
Perry’s real estate woes did not stop at her years-long battle with aging nuns. The pop singer is now entangled in more drama, this time with an elderly veteran named Carl Westcott, the founder of 1-800-Flowers, who says he never meant to sell Perry and her husband, actor Orlando Bloom, his $15 million Santa Barbara estate.
Westcott, an 83-year-old battling Huntington’s disease, reportedly said he signed sale documents in July 2020 when he was under the influence of painkillers after having major back surgery, The Daily Wire’s Amanda Harding recently reported. Westcott tried to back out of the sale days later when he said the influence of the painkillers wore off, but Perry and Bloom refused his request and threatened to sue if he did not go through with the sale.
A representative for Perry and Bloom sent a letter following Westcott’s request to rescind the documents, saying he was legally obligated to complete the sale of the home. Westcott claims he never listed the home for sale and never asked a real estate professional to help sell it. He said he purchased the 9,285 square-foot, eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom home in May 2020, just two months before selling it to Perry and Bloom. Westcott further stated he had purchased with the intention of staying there “for the rest of his life.”
The plaintiff had back surgery in July 2020 and three days later signed the sale paperwork. Westcott was allegedly presented with a written offer from Perry and Bloom for more money than he paid for the property in May. “Upon discharge from the hospital, Mr. Westcott was prescribed at least two opiates in pill form that he was to continue taking for pain, which he took as prescribed several times each day,” the complaint states. “’The combination of his age, frailty from his back condition and recent surgery, and the opiates he was taking several times a day rendered Mr. Westcott of unsound mind.” The veteran’s lawyers argue he was “unable to understand the nature and probable consequences of his actions” due to being on pain medication. They say their client is “in the final years of his life and cannot sell his home.”
Westcott will not attend the trial because he is mentally incapacitated and bedridden, leaving his family to fight the celebrity couple over who should be the rightful owners of the estate. A nonjury trial is scheduled for August 21, 2023, per USA Today.
The current status of the home’s occupants, if any, remains unclear.
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‘I Sold My Soul To The Devil’
More than a decade ago, Katy Perry talked to Australian model and actress Ruby Rose about her transformation from gospel music to secular pop music. Perry noted that she grew up in a Christian church and wanted to dominate the Christian music industry, but the label she was working with went bust. That’s apparently when she made her switch over to secular music. “I swear, I wanted to be the Amy Grant of Music, but it didn’t work out, and, so, I sold my soul to the devil,” Perry says during the interview. The joke, or the metaphor for her transformation, has been criticized online, particularly by Christians.
Perry, of course, is not the only Hollywood celebrity to engage in suspect actions, but she has routinely evaded a “cancellation.” Others, who don’t hold Perry’s views, would surely not have the same fate.
Amanda Harding contributed to this report