Oops, she did it again. Katy Perry has once again angered the religious community. Specifically, a group of Christian singers from Missouri who claim that Katy Perry's hit "Dark Horse" is a rip off of their 2008 song "Joyful Noise." The group is even going so far as to sue Perry for her alleged plagiarism. But not only are they angry at Perry's supposed rip off of their song, they're also upset that she then morphed it from its original Gospel attitude to one filled with associations to "black magic." They're suing for damages and trying to force Perry to stop using and profiting from the song they say they wrote.
This isn't the first time Perry has been accused of plagiarizing a song (although the black magic thing is new). When her song "Roar" debuted, many claimed it sounded a little too much like Sara Bareilles hit "Brave."
In addition to the copyright infringement accusation, Perry is no stranger to upsetting the religious-inclined of the country. Although she got her start in the world of Gospel music and was raised Christian by her pastor parents, the singer has since done a lot that goes against that image.
Here are eight of her most egregious acts ... according to the religious community.
1. WHEN SHE REJECTED STANDARD CHRISTIAN VIEWS
The Christian views on what the afterlife looks like are pretty concrete and important to them, so when Perry dissed those beliefs saying, "I don't believe in a heaven or a hell or an old man sitting on a throne," they didn't take it so well. Oh, and then she threw in "I'm not Christian," for good measure. In just one interview, she effectively rejected her childhood religious upbringing and it was all downhill from there.
2. WHEN SHE WROTE ABOUT KISSING A GIRL
Obviously, Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" track was a big slap in the face to the anti-gay Christian beliefs. In fact, Perry's pastor parents were concerned the track would hurt their congregation. Her father, Keith Hudson, once said, "I was a little concerned, yeah, 'cause I thought my ministry after 30-something years is over." Although Hudson said he ultimately never had a problem, lots of members of the religious community were and still are upset about the controversial content of Perry's song.
3. WHEN SHE HAD NO REGRETS
One Christian blogger took issue with a particular aspect of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" song. Namely the line "no regrets, just love." The blogger writes, "A song clearly targeted at teenagers and children, Perry sings of turning guys on and sexual sin. And in it she preaches a message of 'no regrets' – emphasizing that there is no need for repentance or feeling bad about one’s behavior."
In certain faiths like Catholicism, repenting for your sins is a big deal. You're supposed to go to confession to cleanse yourself of your wrong-doings; Perry's "no regrets" attitude is a major no-no.
4. WHEN SHE "SOLD" HER SOUL TO THE DEVIL
Perry was interviewed about her past as a Gospel singer and she (jokingly) said her pop career was like selling her soul to the devil. Of course, now that video is used on religious blogs as "evidence" of the heathen Perry supposedly is.
5. WHEN SHE BECAME A FALSE ICON
Although Perry might not have cost her father his ministry, Hudson spoke out again in 2013 after watching one of his daughter's concerts, and his words were pretty harsh.
There were 20,000 [people there]. I’m watching this generation, and they were going at it. It was almost like church. I stood there and wept and kept on weeping and weeping. They’re loving and worshipping the wrong thing.
6. WHEN SHE INSULTED MUSLIMS IN HER "DARK HORSE" VIDEO
Clearly, "Dark Horse" caused a whole lot of problems for Perry, including a run-in with the Muslim community after a necklace with the symbol for "Allah" was burned in a sneak peek for Perry's video. Burning such a religious symbol was a big insult to the Islamic faith and they let their feelings known. An online petition to remove the scene reached 65,000 signatures which resulted in Perry scrubbing the religious symbol from her official video.
7. WHEN SHE EMPLOYED JEWISH STEREOTYPES TO MAKE A JOKE
Perry invented a character Yosef Shulem for her "Birthday" video. Shulem was quite obviously supposed to be Jewish, and Perry's rendition of the character had an over-the-top New York accent and was obsessed with money. Apparently, Perry thought that kind of cultural appropriation would be funny instead of offensive.
8. WHEN SHE PERFORMED A SATANIC RITUAL AT THE GRAMMYS
Perhaps E! Online was joking about Perry's witchy performance, but the religious community took her on-stage sorcery seriously. One blogger wrote:
She consummated her ode to Satan by standing amidst a raging fire conjuring up images of the damned. It should be kept in mind that many performers engage in Satanism and witchcraft in an effort to summon and utilize demonic powers to ensnare their followers.
Witchcraft or not, it probably didn't help matters that her dress had a blood-red cross emblazoned on it. Better luck next time, Perry.
