Katy Perry’s Lifetimes Tour continued to unravel this week, marred by production delays, viral mockery, and a growing sense among her fanbase that the once chart-topping sensation is facing a “full-blown career crisis.”
In what’s been dubbed their “latest humiliation,” fans attending Perry’s show last Tuesday (May 13) were left waiting outside for more than two hours past the advertised door time.
Some fans reported fainting due to overcrowding and lack of airflow in the lobby, while others vented their frustration online, calling the experience “chaotic” and “disastrous.”
Still they waited, but when they finally got inside, they were greeted by an experience described as “weird even by Perry’s standards” by critics.
Katy Perry’s “disastrous” Lifetimes Tour gets slammed by critics and fans alike, experiencing production delays and mockery
Image credits: katyperry
This latest misstep is just one in a growing series of incidents that have cast a shadow over the popstar’s recent tour.
Lifetimes is a high-concept production built around a post-apocalyptic video game narrative in which Perry plays a half-human, half-robot pop heroine battling an evil AI known as “the Mainframe.”
Image credits: johnross3706
Despite being ambitious, the concept has been described by some as being “incoherent and bloated.”
“Hopelessly disjointed,” said longtime music critic Chris Riemenschneider, who characterized the show as “Las Vegas meets Battlestar Galactica.”
Image credits: ChrisRstrib
Making matters worse, one segment at the tail end of the show has been subjected to ridicule online for being considered “low-budget” and strange. During her performance of her 2013 hit Roar, Perry flies around the stage mounted on a robotic butterfly.
Image credits: ChrisRstrib
Eagled-eyed fans were quick to notice that the creature’s wings were seemingly manually moved by the singer subtly thrusting her hips up and down.
“Why did no one mention she's moving the wings with her a**?” a post on X read. “This the most low-budget high school musical-like thing I've ever seen,” another replied.
Perry’s public image has reportedly taken a huge hit after her involvement in last month’s Blue Origin space tourism flight
Perry, 40, has tried to meet the criticism head-on. During a concert at Chicago’s United Center, the pop star paused mid-show to address the backlash.
“Well, I thought I was the most hated person on the internet,” she said to the crowd. “I think that’s false,” she added, tearfully, as fans cheered.
Online, however, sentiment remains far less forgiving. For instance, beyond her on-stage props, some netizens have taken issue with her choreography, which some have labeled “mom moves.”
Similar comments drew comparisons to a “cat cleaning itself,” and others accused Perry of being a “soulless vessel,” and compared her to rivals like Taylor Swift, pointing out that “even Swift dances better than this.”
Image credits: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
These issues have been compounded by Perry’s controversial spaceflight with Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-31 mission last month. The singer’s decision to join the space tourism venture drew backlash from both fans and critics, who saw it as tone-deaf and the mission as a celebrity vanity project.
Her now-infamous remark after landing that the trip made her feel “more connected to love” was widely panned, with many interpreting it as dismissive of real-world struggles considering the “elite” nature of the trip.
The spaceflight mission’s negative reception caused last minute changes to Perry’s tour, according to insiders
Image credits: Medios y Media/Getty Images
According to industry insiders, the fallout of the trip has been significant, going as far as to negatively impact the tour’s organization.
For instance, plans to incorporate references to the spaceflight venture into the show were allegedly scrapped last minute due to the blowback, with some fans believing that to be the reason behind the on-stage prop’s feeling “low-budget.”
News outlets have reported that ticket sales for the Lifetimes Tour remain underwhelming in key US markets. As of yesterday (May 14), seats for Perry’s upcoming May 21 concert in Dallas, Texas were still available for as little as $50, while VIP packages priced above $200 remained unsold.
Image credits: Blue Origin
While some international dates—particularly in Europe and Australia—have seen stronger demand, several shows in Canada are reporting poor turnout, as per the Daily Mail.
“There were already concerns about poor ticket sales even before Blue Origin,” a source told the outlet. “Some higher-ups at Live Nation were skeptical from the beginning. There are talks about what to do if the venues don’t fill up further.”
Image credits: katyperry
Besides her ardent followers, her public image seems to have taken a significant hit, with people being either lukewarm toward her or outright hostile.
“She was too busy being an astronaut,” one user wrote. “Bezos could have been a global hero if he left her in space.”
"Can we send her back?" Netizens had mostly negative things to say about the pop star
