Pop star Katy Perry has opened up about how shunning religious bigotry opened her heart and mind.
At a Human Rights Campaign gala on Saturday, the 32-year-old singer also admitted she experimented with her sexuality when she was younger.
“I was curious,” Perry said, “and even then I knew that sexuality wasn’t as black and white as this dress.”
But Perry — who was born Katheryn Hudson to pastor parents — recalled that “homosexuality was synonymous with the word ‘abomination’ and Hell.”
Describing her younger self as a “gospel-singing girl raised in youth groups that were pro- conversion camps,” Perry said she “prayed the gay away” at “Jesus camps.”
But, she added, “in the middle of it all, in a twist of events, I found my gift and my gift introduced me to people outside my bubble. And my bubble started to burst.
“These people were nothing like I had been taught to fear. They were the most free, strong, kind and inclusive people I have ever met. They stimulated my mind and they filled my heart with joy and they freakin’ danced all the while doing it. These people are actually magic and they are magic because they are living their truth.”
Referring to her 2008 hit “I Kissed A Girl,” Perry said: “Truth be told … I did more than that.” The song, she said, “started a conversation that enough of the world was curious enough to sing along to.”
There was no mention of Perry's 2007 single "Ur So Gay," a song about a straight guy who fits gay stereotypes.
Many people believe the track is homophobic and offensive. (Perry sings: "I hope you hang yourself with your H&M scarf, while jacking off listening to Mozart / You bitch and moan about L.A., wishing you were in the rain reading Hemingway.")
But, at Saturday's HRC gala, Perry honoured the LGBT people in her life.
“You don’t get to choose your family but you can choose your tribe,” said Perry “They are trusted allies that provide a safe space to fall, to not know it all, and to make mistakes. These are the people I hold dear.”
Perry said she will continue to stand with the LGBT community.
“Real change, real evolution and real perception shift can happen if we open our minds and soften our hearts,” she said. "It's time to lead with empathy and grace and compassion now more than ever to find the unity we need now.”
Watch the full speech below: