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Katy Perry felt worn out from a tour and an emotionally exhausting day when she prepared to take the stage at a concert. Just before she planned to get in front of the audience, things got worse. She received word that someone had made a bomb threat. Perry revealed what bomb-sniffing dogs discovered when they searched the area.

Katy Perry broke down after receiving a bomb threat

At the tail end of Perry’s California Dreams tour, she traveled to Indonesia and The Philippines. She felt exhausted after months of touring and the final show in Manila was almost too much for her. 

“I did a show in Indonesia and another one in Manila, and those were the last two shows of my tour, which made it 125 shows, so I’m very tired,” Perry told Kristen Wiig for Interview Magazine. “And yesterday also wasn’t that good of a day for me for several other reasons. I had gotten into a back-and-forth with one of my best friends who I never ever argue with, and then, to top it off, right before I was supposed to go onstage, there was a bomb threat.”

Katy Perry wears a pink tutu and stands on a stage. She holds a microphone in one hand and points her other hand.
Katy Perry | Neil Lupin/Getty Images

Police quickly arrived with dogs to sniff for explosives. For a moment, it seemed as though they found something.

“You know those bomb-sniffing dogs? They were everywhere,” she said. “They started sniffing out this backpack that was near my dressing room . . . I probably shouldn’t be giving up this kind of information because it sets me up for the future, but two dogs actually . . . [both laugh] Well, they had to put me in an armored car, and I think I started crying at one point because I was just so overwhelmed ….”

When officials examined the backpack, they immediately realized why the dogs had been sniffing it. 

“[W]e came to find out at the very end that it was chicken in the backpack that the dogs were sniffing and not something else,” Perry said, later adding, “I should probably be a bit more discreet, but I thought, ‘chicken in a backpack? In the Philippines?’ I guess the dogs just wanted to eat.”

Luckily, she was able to proceed with the concert without any further problems. 

Katy Perry put on a concert shortly after hearing her husband wanted a divorce

Russell Brand and Katy Perry stand together and smile. He wears a suit and she wears a white dress.
Russell Brand and Katy Perry | Chris Jackson/Getty Images
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During that same period, Perry got onstage after another challenging day. Just ahead of a concert, Perry received a text message from then-husband Russell Brand informing her that he had filed for divorce. After crying backstage, Perry got in front of the audience and played a show. In 2013, Perry said this was the final time she spoke to her ex.

“He’s a very smart man, and I was in love with him when I married him,” she told Vogue. “Let’s just say I haven’t heard from him since he texted me saying he was divorcing me December 31, 2011.”

Perry and Orlando Bloom have been together since 2016.