Katy Perry has capitalized on her viral “eye glitch” to announce an extension of Las Vegas residency Play.
Social media was abuzz over a 17-second video clip posted on TikTok by a fan that showed Perry on stage with her right eye closed and left eye open. She tapped her temple several times until the right eye stayed open.
The clip, which has racked up over 19 million views, sparked playful reactions on social media – including speculation that Perry might, in fact, be a robot or a clone. Most people recognized it as an age-old gag (“That baby doll you had as a kid with the eye that kept closing,” noted Marianna Eakle) and noted that Perry has previously spoken about her “wonk-eye” (on last season’s American Idol, she said “I used to be worried about it. Then a bunch of my fans created a fandom over my wonk-eye. I even have a fandom that calls itself, ‘Katy's wonk-eye.’ It's my right eye”).
Others correctly predicted the clip would bring out the anti-vaxxers (“Conspiracy theorists are gonna have a field day with this one,” wrote one person). “She got that Pfizer eye,” tweeted conservative comedians @hodgetwins.
@katyperrytv KATYYYYY!#PLAY ♬ sonido original - Katy Perry TV
On Thursday, Perry shared the clip with a label that read: “POV when you see new 2023 PLAY dates.”
In the caption, the pop star poked fun at some of the reactions. “Welcoming all my #flatearthers #spaceisfakers #birdsarentrealers #skyisntbluers to come see my broken doll eye party trick IRL in Vegas.
“The show’s set list is a fun through memory lane going all the way back to 2008, a time when we weren’t all frozen by the paranoia of our own echo chambers! This show is a nonstop party about finding unconditional love and strangely (for me) not political at all.”
Perry added 14 shows at Resorts World Las Vegas between Feb. 15 and April 15. Tickets go on sale Nov. 4.
Play has grossed a reported $20.7 million U.S. since it debuted last December.
The 38-year-old singer’s residency is on the site of the Stardust casino, where her aunt was a showgirl and her grandmother worked as a seamstress.