Katy Perry is going viral for her risqué performance with rapper Doechii at the MTV VMAs on Wednesday night.
The former American Idol judge literally flew into the awards show, descending from the ceiling of New York’s UBS Arena on a wire before hitting the stage, where she performed a nine-minute mash-up of her greatest hits before accepting the 2024 Video Vanguard Award. Amidst abridged versions of "Dark Horse," "E.T.," “California Gurls,” "Teenage Dream," "I Kissed a Girl," and "Firework,” among others, Perry was joined onstage by rapper Doechii to debut the pair’s collaboration “I’m His, He’s Mine.”
While Perry performed various physical feats during her performance, many viewers were focused on the single minute she shared with Doechii. Clips of the performance immediately began to circulate on social media, with many surprised at how suggestive the pairing was.
Opinions about the song were torn between those who rather begrudgingly admitted that it “sounds like a hit,” and those who lamented the age-old use of highly sexualized choreography to advertise a new song. “It's so desperate that it needs this imagery to sell the music,” @rroobb3 wrote on X (formerly Twitter). This is the problem when you move away from music being just sound. If this were on the radio I would skip to the next station.”
“That camera angle from under the stage, though ????,” argued another user of one particularly risqué shot.
Some singled out Perry’s partner, Orlando Bloom, for his seemingly muted reactions during her performance. “Orlando Bloom’s reaction to Katy Perry shaking her butt cheeks, spreading eagle, scissoring, and kissing a girl at #VMAs was pretty iconic,” @andysignore said on X.
“Did it appear to anyone else as if Orlando Bloom may not be familiar with the song “California Gurls?” another user queried.
“I’m His, He’s Mine” drops on Sept. 13 along with Perry’s latest album, 143. You can check out her full MTV VMAs performance below.
