To put it mildly, there was a lot of star power at the Democratic National Convention. Among the high-profile singers that traveled to Philadelphia were Paul Simon, Boyz II Men, and Lenny Kravitz. But one performer in particular caused a number of fundies to go into a conniption fit–Katy Perry.
Perry was one of the earliest celebrities to endorse Hillary, doing so in October 2015.
I'M PROUD TO STAND WITH @HillaryClinton! Don’t miss your chance to win a trip to Iowa to hang with me @ the rally: http://t.co/TCjPevONH5
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) October 19, 2015
She also performed at a number of concerts to support Hillary, culminating in an appearance on the last night of the convention. Watch it here.
Before beginning her set, Perry said that despite never finishing high school, “I have an open mind, and I have a voice”–and she’s using that voice to support Hillary. She asked those in attendance to do the same.
“I’m asking you to have an open mind and use your voice, because on November 8, you’ll be just as powerful as any NRA lobbyist. You’ll have as much say as any billionaire.”
Normally, it shouldn’t be news when a singer endorses a Democrat. However, for a number of evangelicals, Perry’s support of Hillary is something of a personal insult. For those who don’t know, Katy is the daughter of Pentecostal pastors. Her upbringing was very strict–secular music was banned, and terms like “deviled eggs” and “Dirt Devil” were verboten. She only got turned on to secular music when her friends snuck CDs into her house. Since at least 2013, Perry hasn’t identified as a Christian, or a part of any organized religion, for that matter.
That context may explain the ugly reaction from a number of Twitter users after Perry’s performance. The (New York) Daily News got a sample.
https://twitter.com/jaded_gal05/status/758873020081418241
. @katyperry is a perfect example of how it's not necessarily the parents' fault when a kid goes bad
— Covfefe Grandma (@ElkaSelzer) July 29, 2016
https://twitter.com/AngryMffer/status/754042466987225088
Conservatives need to boycott Katy Perry & any other Hollywood insiders who want to keep the rigged system in place that benefits them. #DNC
— The Truth (@TheRealTruth988) July 29, 2016
A couple of pastors joined in on the Twitter outrage. This is from Bruno Andrade, a Brazilian-American pastor from Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Katy Perry basically told us "My parents are Christian pastors, but I grew up to worship the Devil. So, be open-minded like me." #DNC #
— Bruno Andrade (@Brunoandradepr) July 29, 2016
And this from Greg Locke, pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee; near Nashville.
Katy Perry is voting for #HillaryClinton. Well, she went against everything else her Republican pastor parents taught her, so. #DNCinPHL
— Pastor Greg Locke (@pastorlocke) July 29, 2016
With all due respect, Pastors Andrade and Locke, you’d be singing a different tune if you knew Katy’s parents, Keith and Mary Hudson. My girlfriend actually met them sometime around 2004 or 2005 at a crusade. Although they are staunch Republicans, they have lightened up considerably since the 1980s and 1990s. If you check out their pictures on Facebook and Instagram, you’ll notice that Keith sports an earring.
They’ve also closely followed their daughter’s career; one Instagram picture shows them posing in front of a poster for “The Smurfs 2,” in which their daughter voiced Smurfette. That’s very telling; well into the 1980s, a number of fundies thought the Smurfs were demonic. They don’t make much of their relationship with Perry; my girlfriend told me that she didn’t even know they were Katy’s parents for some years after she met them.
Sadly, this is yet another example of the prevailing mentality in the religious right–that anyone brought up as a pastor’s kid has no business being a Democrat.
