Katy Perry's best defense is a good offense (and a sense of humor)

Photo: Greg Lotus

We've been on Katy Perry's case since her breakout song, "Ur So Gay," dropped in late 2007. She told us then that "there's a little gay man trapped inside" and that what made her different than other pop starlets was her sense of humor. After One of the Boys (Capitol Records) blew up, in no small part thanks to the controversy of #1 single "I Kissed a Girl," we tracked Perry to this summer's Vans Warped Tour. "I'm not an abomination," she said then in response to growing right-wing criticism.

After being named Musician of the Year in this year's Out 100, we spoke to Perry again. Every time we've written about her in the past she and the magazine have received a flood of both fan mail and hate mail. But unlike Perry, little of ours comes from Christian conservatives concerned she's damned their curious daughters to a life of sexual experimentation. (Our mailbag skews more towards dads worried we've endangered their sons, so we know the feeling.) 

Perry, though, isn't spending much time apologizing for her attitude:

Have you found it become easier to defend yourself?
I never feel like I'm actually defending myself. I always just feel like I'm answering the question, because other people are the ones who make it controversial. I just look at it as a part of my life, as flirtatious and very tongue in cheek. I get a lot of journalists in Europe who are like, "What's the big deal? People are OK with hip-hop videos where there are strippers and drugs and gangs and guns, when you're singing about an innocent kiss?" When news people do headlines about it, I'm like, "You guys are obviously a) not getting the tongue in cheek side of it, and b) you're stupid, because we have a war and an election going on and you're helping me sell records, dumbass."

One perk of a job at Out is the chance to grill people like Perry until we're satisfied they know what the hell they're talking about. And we've been convinced her sassy vocabulary is service of a greater message:

Why do you think you belong on the cover?
Because if I wasn't straight, I would be gay.

Why do you say that?
I think that any sexual orientation, whether you're gay or straight, is a beautiful thing as long as you do it with pride, as long as there is integrity behind it. I do believe in the gay community and gay marriage, and I believe in straight marriage. But I think that some of the straight marriages are not fantastic or for the right reasons. It's all up to the individual. The world is a better place when people are happy about who they are and being themselves.

Read the full Q&A with Perry here, and be sure to admire her stunning portrait among the Out 100.

Previously > Catching up with Katy

Comments

[Phaballa]

I wish you would've asked her why her songs are so misogynistic. For example: "You change your mind / like a girl changes clothes / you PMS / like a bitch I would know."

I say: leave my bitchy PMSing out of your songs. Also, learn how to sing.

[Anne]

The fact that she was choosen to be on your OUT 100 Cover is just another reason why your magazine suck so bad!!! Just because she did a song about kissing a girl she was choosen as the OUT 100 people??? No wonder why we lost in California (Prop 8) We continue to give credit to people that don't really support our community! I would not surprise me that next month you will have Madonna on the cover of your magazine, even though she was just "too busy" touring the country and never really care about Prop 8!!! Shameful!!

[JL]

You wanted to include Katy Perry. I hate that decision, because her song is annoying and, I think, homophobic, but fine. Include her.

But she was the only woman you could find to put on the cover?

There were dozens of worthy lesbian and bi women on your list, and any one of them could have graced the cover, if only to give your female readers any reason at all to pick up this magazine.

Rachel Maddow? Anyone?

[Michelle]

"Why do you think you belong on the cover?"
"Because if I wasn't straight, I would be gay."
???
Is this even an answer?
Of course if you weren't straight, you would be lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered. I didn't know you could be something else.