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Katy Perry’s Racist Joke Mentioning Ex-POTUS Barack Obama Sparks Uproar On Twitter

By Erika Miranda
Published on: 20:25 PST, Apr 30, 2017

Katy Perry’s racist joke had social media fired up as Twitter users do not take her comparison of her new hair with Barack Obama lightly.

Over the weekend, the “Fireworks” singer has become the subject of many social media posts after she went on Instagram Live to speak to her fans. But what should have been a harmless chat had been blown out of proportion after Perry likened her new hairstyle to former U.S. President Obama’s exit from the White House.

According to E! Online, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter known by birth as Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, who now sports a short-and-blonde hairdo, received backlash after she snapped at a fan who misses her dark hair with an Obama diss that we now know as Katy Perry’s racist joke.

“Oh, someone says, ‘I miss your old black hair,'” Perry said before adding the controversial statement that made her even more famous on Twitter for the wrong reason.

“Oh, really? Do you miss Barack Obama as well? Oh, OK. Times change. Bye! See you guys later.”

After that, she begins laughing at her joke, turning away from the camera to check her friends’ reactions and said, “I should leave now.”

Now becoming more viral than her latest single, Katy Perry’s racist joke has angered many of her fans and gave critics ammunition to fire at her online.

One Twitter user uploaded the controversial video of the singer and noted how people “can do without” her, adding the hashtag “Loser.”

Others shared their thoughts about Katy Perry’s “racially insensitive” joke in their own unique ways.

Another noted that while Katy Perry’s comment wasn’t directly racist, it emitted an obvious racial undertone, especially when she mentioned America’s first African-American president.

One even dubbed her as “the human form of the Fyre Festival,” which was recently canceled after thousands bought outrageously expensive tickets for it.

Twitter user Paris Carerra even deemed the statement as “offensive” and “a poor, tasteless attempt at humor,” and noted how Katy Perry is showing her “privileged” side.

Of course, there are those who downright threatened her and called her names.

Others just went to Obama’s defense, while some highlighted the difference between the former U.S. president and the controversial singer.

According to Hollywood Life, Katy Perry’s racist comments about Obama was quite unexpected as she had been rooting for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Uproxx, on the other hand, thinks that the singer will soon clear her position and try to calm things down, although she might be in for a challenge as “social media and nuance don’t mix so the damage is probably done.”

She may have been popular for a time but uproar about Katy Perry’s racist joke should soon be resolved, else her reputation is in the gutter. E! believes that there’s no better venue to do so than during her performance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live! on May 20 which will serve as the show’s season finale.

Prior to this, Katy was also criticized for her new single “Bon Appetit” where she collaborated with Migos.

According to TMZ, the rapper trio has a reputation for making homophobic and misogynistic remarks but Perry was the one under fire for teaming up with them especially after she had received a National Equality Award in March.

Still, it wasn’t the first time Katy has hit a nerve in the LGBT community as she previously released songs about homosexuality such as “I Kissed a Girl” and “Ur So Gay.”

Do you think Katy Perry’s racist comments deserved the backlash? Share with us your thoughts below and stay tuned for more news about Hollywood celebrities.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]

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