Skip to main content

Katy Perry has been familiar with the pressures of fame for years, but she said dealing with it rarely gets easier. While she likes and appreciates her fans, she admitted it was exhausting to feel as though she always had to be in the public eye. When speaking about an Elvis Presley quote about dealing with fans, Perry said it no longer applied to modern celebrities. She shared why she felt this way.

Katy Perry didn’t think one of Elvis Presley’s rules about fame was still relevant

In a conversation with Kristen Wiig for Interview Magazine, Perry discussed the role fame played in her life. She vehemently disagreed with the notion that she owed people details about her personal life because she was a celebrity.

“Who wrote that rule? No one wrote that rule,” she said. “That’s just someone trying to make a selfish plea to be nosy. I heard this story about Elvis Presley. Apparently, if Elvis went out in public, he would always take pictures with any of his fans who asked. No matter what, he would always do it.”

Katy Perry wears a lavender dress and matching hat. She takes a selfie with fans at  the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
Katy Perry with fans | Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Perry said this was easy for Elvis to do because cameras were far less accessible when he was famous.

“But then I think to myself, ‘Yeah, of course he did it. It was the 1950s. Not everyone had a camera,’” she said. “Maybe you’d meet two or three people who had cameras, and those people would get their pictures, but it wasn’t like it is now, where every single person walking by has a camera …” 

She said she was far more willing to stop and talk to her young fans than her adult ones. 

Katy Perry disliked the way fame intruded on her personal life

Perry said she was happy to interact with fans when she was working. When she was on her own time, though, she disliked all the attention on her.

“Also, if I’m working, then I’m just kind of 100 percent up for the public,” she said. “But if I’m not working, then, again, I’m very cautious.”

She wished people would stay away from her when she was out in public.

“I don’t really ever tolerate it — especially when it comes to my personal life or my family,” she said. “When I’m working, I’m all yours. But when I’m not working, stay the f*** away. That’s how it goes. So whoever made up the idea that everyone has the right to every bit of information about you because you’re famous … No one made that rule. It’s not a law, and if you think it is, then you don’t really understand how the world works.”

She plans to release a new album this month

Four years after the release of her album Smile, Perry will be back this year with the album 143. “143” is code for “I love you.”

Katy Perry wears a strapless cream colored dress and sunglasses. She walks outside in New York City.
Katy Perry | Gotham/GC Images
Related

Katy Perry Allegedly Lost 20 Pounds Without Ozempic Amid Speculation

“I set out to create a bold, exuberant, celebratory dance-pop album with the symbolic 143 numerical expression of love as a throughline message,” said Perry in a statement, per Variety.

Perry will release the lead single, “Woman’s World” on July 11.