# Katy Perry is horrible **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928 "2011-07-31T15:01:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/62 "2011-07-31T22:55:47Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Katy Perry knows exactly what she’s doing, and when it stops working, she’ll do something else. Or retire with a pile of money. Pop music ain’t art. It is, and has always been, a means to an end: either money or sex. She has the former sewn up and never has to work again. As for the latter, I give her marriage another 37 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/63 "2011-07-31T23:09:40Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Or retire with a pile of money. > > Pop music ain’t art. It is, and has always been, a means to an end: either money or sex. She has the former sewn up and never has to work again. As for the latter, I give her marriage another 37 seconds. And then I’ll give her another 37 seconds… ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/64 "2011-07-31T23:12:10Z")
No, I was using that 37 seconds to…well, it took less than that. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/65 "2011-07-31T23:38:21Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > What are you all talking about? Her songs are fun, catchy, and clever. “Last Friday Night” is awesome. She also knows the marketing savvy of making a good video to help nurture a hit. This. Last Friday Night is an awesome reminder of the wild and fun times I had in my wayward youth (and last week). [sub]Of course, it helps to have actually had said wild and fun times, and I suspect many here haven’t. [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/66 "2011-07-31T23:39:05Z")
The confusion in the thread is bizarre. She gets million dollar paychecks for singing Peacock. Good for her. She also gets the baggage that comes along with singing songs explicitly begging a guys to show her his cock. That baggage is that she sounds like a cock crazy slut. Did you even read the lyrics before becoming outraged? As far as sexism goes you’re seeing something that’s not there. If this was a guy begging a dude to show him his cock I would say he sounds like a cock crazy slut too. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/67 "2011-08-01T00:47:23Z")
She’s god awful. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/68 "2011-08-01T00:49:30Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > I was asking the OP specifically and everyone in general. I don’t like Katy Perry’s music either, I just felt (and I wasn’t alone) that the OP seemed to have a specific problem with the sexual element of her song. It’s interesting that you say that, because several people in this thread who’ve defended Katy Perry have made comments suggesting that they’re fine with the sexual themes in her music because she doesn’t really mean it – **mhendo** says she’s not a slut just because she’s been in risque videos, **Maastricht** described her real-life sexual behavior as “impeccable”, and you yourself pointed out that she’s married and that her marriage has apparently been scandal-free. As lovely as that is for her and Russel Brand, I would think better of Katy Perry as an artist if I believed that she were expressing something honest about her sexuality in her music. But I doubt as many people would be comfortable with that as they are with her “Tee hee, I’m so naughty, only not really!” routine. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/69 "2011-08-01T00:52:56Z")
“She knows what boys like, she knows what guys want…” ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/70 "2011-08-01T00:55:44Z")
Nobody’s as bad or as flat out talentless as Pink, though. just sayin…:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eugene_of_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/71 "2011-08-01T01:40:21Z")
Fucking Russell Brand is suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/72 "2011-08-01T02:00:42Z")
> [@jamiemcgarry](#): > > Nobody’s as bad or as flat out talentless as Pink, though. > > just sayin…:dubious: Well, now you’re just funning us. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/73 "2011-08-01T02:07:06Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > While I’m not a big fan, I think of her music as fairly inoffensive pop. Compared to other pop singers, I find her songs to be more fun. Yeah. I don’t own any of her music and avoid overexposure to almost all pop music, but when I do come across her stuff, I find it catchy and fun. And the fact that she’s apparently written a song about wanting to see cock, well, that makes me like her more. > [@Cuckoorex](#): > > Well, at least she’s more tolerable than Ke$ha. I find her stuff pretty catchy too. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/74 "2011-08-01T02:25:29Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > What does the world see in this talentless tramp? Seriously? She’s not really that good looking and her lyrics make Britney Spears look like the greatest lyricist ever. My daughter downloaded her CD the other day and was listening to it in the basement when I happened to walk in. The song was “Peacock” and here is a sampling of the stellar lyrical craftsmanship I was exposed to ([Pagina niet gevonden - build.amsterdam](http://www.directlyrics.com/katy-perry-peacock-lyrics.html)) > All of her songs are just as horrible. I had heard that her parents pretty much disowned her when she started this new career and I never understood why but after hearing these songs I can see how they would be horrified by her behavior. I seriously don’t know how she can sing these songs with a straight face they are so ridiculous. She comes across as a cock crazy slut. Of course, I’m always down for a cock crazy slut but yikes she is talentless. > > Is it just her looks that makes her a star or what? > [@Lamia](#): > > It’s interesting that you say that, because several people in this thread who’ve defended Katy Perry have made comments suggesting that they’re fine with the sexual themes in her music because she doesn’t really mean it – **mhendo** says she’s not a slut just because she’s been in risque videos, **Maastricht** described her real-life sexual behavior as “impeccable”, and you yourself pointed out that she’s married and that her marriage has apparently been scandal-free. > > As lovely as that is for her and Russel Brand, I would think better of Katy Perry as an artist if I believed that she were expressing something honest about her sexuality in her music. But I doubt as many people would be comfortable with that as they are with her “Tee hee, I’m so naughty, only not really!” routine. The idea that her lyrics don’t seem genuine is a perfectly valid criticism. I only pointed out that she was married because it seems a bit unfair to imply she is promiscuous when the evidence seems to point that she is not. Of course it wouldn’t matter to me if she actually was a “slut.” I went to see Courtney Love and Peaches live, scantily clad promiscuous female performers with sexually explicit lyrics don’t bother me in the slightest. In my first post, I linked to a Liz Phair song far more explicit and, in my opinion, a much better piece of art, than anything Katy Perry has done. I specifically asked (twice) if it was the sexual tone of the lyrics that bothers the OP or merely that Katy Perry isn’t particularly artistically talented. I’m not trying to put words in anyone’s mouth. That’s why I asked. The OP calls a woman a tramp, and also says she comes across as a cock crazy slut, then says “I had heard that her parents pretty much disowned her when she started this new career and I never understood why but after hearing these songs I can see how they would be horrified by her behavior.” Would you assume that the horrible behavior that made her parents want to disown her was: A) Singing pop songs with vapid lyrics or B) Acting like a slut The sad truth is that A) rarely happens and B) happens quite a lot. I think there is more than enough casual denigrating of the consensual sex habits of adults in this world. You can criticize her music without calling her a tramp. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/75 "2011-08-01T03:27:45Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > As lovely as that is for her and Russel Brand, I would think better of Katy Perry as an artist if I believed that she were expressing something honest about her sexuality in her music. Of course, she may be. Presumably she had her fun before she married Russell Brand. I don’t see why she can’t enjoy fucking, or sing from the perspective of a woman who enjoys fucking more than one man, just because she got married a little while ago. She likes cock? Well, sure, she’s a young woman, most of them do. I think, to be honest, Perry’s lyrics (as well as some other stuff we’re hearing these days) is the precise reverse of what we’ve been hearing men sing in rock/pop music for decades, and it’s clearly hard for a lot of people to take. I mean, for years we’ve had men _actually naming their band after spooge_ - Lovin’ Spoonful. Pearl Jam. We’ve been hearing Robert Plant yowl about honey dripping since the 60’s. ZZ Top sang about the Tube Steak Boogie and the Pearl Necklace. Now a woman says she likes cock and people go berzerk. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/76 "2011-08-01T04:14:30Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Of course, she may be. Presumably she had her fun before she married Russell Brand. I don’t see why she can’t enjoy fucking, or sing from the perspective of a woman who enjoys fucking more than one man, just because she got married a little while ago. She likes cock? Well, sure, she’s a young woman, most of them do. > > I think, to be honest, Perry’s lyrics (as well as some other stuff we’re hearing these days) is the precise reverse of what we’ve been hearing men sing in rock/pop music for decades, and it’s clearly hard for a lot of people to take. I mean, for years we’ve had men _actually naming their band after spooge_ - Lovin’ Spoonful. Pearl Jam. We’ve been hearing Robert Plant yowl about honey dripping since the 60’s. ZZ Top sang about the Tube Steak Boogie and the Pearl Necklace. > > Now a woman says she likes cock and people go berzerk. No it’s because the lyrics, not the music, are absolutely the dumbest fucking thing I’ve heard in forever. Go read them or listen to the song if you haven’t. It’s the equivalent of a boy running around giggling saying penis over and over. It sounds like a fake song you would read about in some poorly written Literotica story called “Cock Crazy Slut”. She’s cashing checks and bringing home phat stax though right? That song ET, minus the incredibly weak Kayne West portions, at least sounds like it is being performed by a grown-up and has some musical value. Peacock (and other songs by her) just make her seem like some cock crazy slut, which is okay with me, but I’m going to point it out. Thanks! ETA: Where did you hear that about Pearl Jam? You just make it up for this thread because I’ve never heard that before. ETA2: Oh, Wango Tango is pretty idiotic too, but at least there are some good guitar bits in there. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/77 "2011-08-01T04:23:59Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Of course, she may be. She may very well be trying to express something honest about her sexuality in her music, but if she is then she’s an even worse songwriter and performer than I thought. > [@](#): > > I don’t see why she can’t enjoy fucking, or sing from the perspective of a woman who enjoys fucking more than one man, just because she got married a little while ago. She can do whatever she wants, she just isn’t any good at it. I haven’t heard all of Katy Perry’s songs, nor do I wish to, but in those that I have heard she doesn’t come across to me at all as someone expressing her sincere feelings and desires. She comes across as someone who has realized that there’s a market for stupid songs about sex. When Jill Sobule sang “I Kissed a Girl” back in 1995 I believed that she, or the character she was playing, felt happy, excited, and a little nervous about the experience. When I heard Katy Perry’s song of the same name I didn’t believe for a minute that she’d ever kissed a girl and liked it. She sounds like a woman who’s realized that guys think it’s hot when two girls kiss and that claiming to have done so is a good way to get attention. I do think it’s interesting that Perry’s apparently tame private life seems to make her racy lyrics and sexy videos more palatable to some people, though. ETA: > [@Cubsfan](#): > > ETA: Where did you hear that about Pearl Jam? You just make it up for this thread because I’ve never heard that before. He isn’t making it up, but it isn’t true either. It’s an urban legend that members of Pearl Jam have denied. I can look it up later, but there was a Rolling Stone interview a couple of years ago where they explained it didn’t really mean anything, it’s just something they came up with because they needed a name. The “jam” refers to jamming musically. ---
**Author:** ![YaraMateo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/58f4c7/32.png) [@YaraMateo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaraMateo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/78 "2011-08-01T04:51:54Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > “Firework” is pleasant background listening. Firewok almost made me hate her. I had to go to a few graduations this year and it seemed “Firework” was the theme song of summer 2011. It’s a really stupid song besides for (I’ll admit) catchy chorus. That almost made me hate her. I like some of her songs, but she’s not that GOOD of a singer or that GOOD looking. (She’s pretty, but not that pretty for a celeb). She has a GREAT rack, though. She’s fun and really creative at times. She’s one of the few celebrities I don’t outright love or hate. She reminds me of her old man (Russell Brand). Every time I like she does something annoying. Every time I decide to dislike her, she goes something cool. I don’t see her lasting very long, though. As shown by Britney, you can only last so long doing this kind of meaningless thing. Before anyone says otherwise, she’s no Madonna/Lady Gaga. So, their attention whoring will go on and on. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/79 "2011-08-01T05:25:46Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > The “jam” refers to jamming musically. Sure it does. I haven’t seen anything that says Perry’s clutching her pearls at the the thought of someone thinking she likes fucking. Find me that article and maybe I’ll get on board with the dishonest in her music angle but from where I’m sitting, I’m seeing a lot of how dare this woman enjoy the sexual attributes of men, but don’t change the channel cuz I’ma enjoy her sexual attributes. If you think the lyrics are dumb, ok, go do something else when you hear the song. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/80 "2011-08-01T05:41:40Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > Much of her work as Katy Hudson can be found on Youtube. Here’s [one example](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFvXOChyqdA), showing some of her pop tendencies even in the “Christian Music” genre. I’m an atheist, and I find this to easily be the most listenable and best-written of any song i’ve heard by her. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928/81 "2011-08-01T06:08:53Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Oh please. Katy Perry’s whole shtick is that she’s a sexed up tramp. It’s not sexist, it’s just the fucking truth. > > There’s a whole genre of rock called “cock rock.” People justifiably talk about KISS and AC/DC as pussy-crazed male sluts, which they are. Same thing. > > I can’t fucking stand this whole attitude, remarkably prevalent on this board, of calling everything sexist or racist. Give me a break. Rock stars get put on a pedetsal and worshipped for their sexcapades. If any woman behaved the way Mick Jagger, Steven Tyler, Ted Nugent, Gene Simmons, or Bret Michaels…well, they’d be called a porn star or a whore and that’d be all anyone would ever talk about. Yet these guys have had sex with hundreds of women each and their careers and reputations have only been better for it. Sure, people can tut tut about the rascals, but there’s no venom in it, no real judgment, just the typical boys will be boys attitude. Compare that to Katy Perry, who dresses like a cartoon character, writes innocuous pop songs, and has only been known to sleep with one guy, who is now her husband. And the adjectives are skank, whore, cock-obsessed slut… And just talking about her gets people into an angry lather. The woman isn’t a musical genius or anything, but she can carry a tune, looks cute, and has a couple of catchy songs. She’s done nothing I can think of to earn any of these labels about her sexuality. If you can’t see how that is wildly sexist, then you are being willingly obtuse and naive. It’s ALWAYS about a woman’s perceived sexual image. Frankly, I wouldn’t give a shit if they had sex with a thousand men, as long as it was what they chose to do. Slut is an innapropriate term for anyone. After all, what business is it of yours who a woman sleeps with, or behaves as though she enjoys sex? Why does any woman who shows off her body or owns her sexual prowess maligned and treated as trash? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/katy-perry-is-horrible/590928.md?page=5)