Katy Perry And Taylor Swift Suffer Huge Backlash After VMAs
The MTV VMAs aired on Sunday night. It was supposed to help Katy Perry turn around what has been an awful year for her. However, most people thought she did an awful job hosting the event. Mashable thought that Perry told some really bad jokes. They noted that her arrival onstage and monologue about how she had been away from Earth really fell flat on the viewers.
HuffPost also criticized Perry and said that in addition to her opening monologue, her political statements, her coming out with a fake baby attached to her chest, and other hosting shenanigans were awkward. Chris Richards of the Washington Post had a more stinging response.
“Speaking of the absence of fun, why was Perry invited to host this thing? Who thinks she’s funny? Why can’t she see that her misguided comedic impulses are toxic to her stardom? Why can’t she go back to space?”
Some in the comments section also had negative things to say about Ms. Perry.
“Also, what’s with Katy Perry’s short haircut?” asks ACW11.
“Katy Perry has definitely jumped the shark,” notes BGhopper3.
But Katy Perry wasn’t the only pop star who received criticism. Even though Taylor Swift wasn’t at the VMAs, the new video for “Look What You Made Me Do” aired during the MTV special. Soon after, negative reviews of the video came from all corners of the internet. Kevin Fallon from The Daily Beast was particularly critical.
“In such volatile, uncertain times, it is actually comforting to know that one thing remains the same: Taylor Swift just doesn’t get it.”
Fallon believes that Swift rips off what a lot of her pop star predecessors did (some think Swift was paying tribute), and he doesn’t like the way her commentary is dressed up as provocation.
Craig Jenkins from Vulture thinks that Swift is not the villain she is trying to portray herself as.
“‘Look What You Made Me Do’ is a flubbed attempt at turning bad press into good music, a too-soft shot back at people who damn near ruined her reputation, and a too-late acknowledgment that Taylor Swift is not the character she plays on TV. We knew that already. Where’s the real tea?”
It seems a lot of commenters after the article agree with Jenkins.
“If old Taylor is dead, why does new Taylor sound exactly the same?” asks CrystalDawn0603.
“The problem I have with this new incarnation of Swift is that – unlike when other artists pivot to a new persona – it doesn’t feel authentic,” responds Cuttingcorners.
However, there have been a lot of people on Twitter who have praised the video.
HELP ME I LOVE THE NEW TAYLOR SWIFT MUSIC VIDEO SO MUCH.
— Tessa (@TessaViolet) August 28, 2017
taylor swift's video is insane in the best way. each detail is fantastic.
— sasha malik (@sashaamaliik) August 29, 2017
Perhaps Swift is getting the last laugh as the video has broken several streaming records. According to the Guardian, Swift’s video had 30 million views in just 24 hours. That helped her beat Adele’s “Hello,” which achieved 27.7 million views in the same time. As of Tuesday afternoon, the video passed 60 million views. Taylor Swift is also expected to debut at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 next week. The negativity this time around isn’t affecting Swift. It’s unfortunate that the same can’t be said about Katy Perry.
[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]
