Katy Perry Is Turning into Hollywood’s Most Unexpected Politically Woke Celeb
Katy Perry was a major presence throughout Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. During the tumultuous election, Katy became more politically outspoken than she ever had been in the past. Her candidate didn’t end up winning, but that hasn’t stopped her from using her audience and celebrity status to take a stance on political issues.
After the Leslie Jones nude photo hack last summer, Katy tweeted:
Do not give your eyeballs to this racist, hate-filled, misogynoir crime. I #StandWithLeslie ❤️
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) August 24, 2016
While she didn’t necessarily coin the term “misogynoir” (it was started by queer black feminist Moya Bailey and is used when referring to misogyny directed toward black women), Perry’s use of the term and celebrity status reintegrated the phrase into the media.
Now, months later, Perry is making a statement yet again, this time by funding a PSA about Muslim immigrants.
The short film was directed by Aya Tanimura and stars Indian actress Hina Khan. The video was executive produced and funded by singer Katy Perry. It begins with 89-year-old Haru Kuromiya telling the story of her family’s incarceration in the US government Japanese camps in the ’40s. But (spoiler alert!) after the one-minute mark, the woman who we thought was Kuromiya begins peeling off elements of her face to reveal they were prosthetics all along. Underneath is a young woman of color.
The message is obvious: The xenophobic ideals that are often encouraged by Trump and his team could easily lead to Kuromiya’s story (which is actually real) happening a second time around. The L.A. Times reports that Perry wrote Tanimura a blank check to fund the production of the PSA.
Props to Katy for using her celeb status and social media platform to spread this inclusive message. We’re guessing you can expect to see a lot more of this sort of thing from Hollywood stars over the next four years, and we are HERE. FOR. IT.
What are your thoughts on the PSA? Share with us on Twitter.
(Feature photo via Getty)
