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Following up on a summer of controversy, cultural appropriation, and a bumpy album release, Katy Perry landed in a space suit on the stage of the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards Sunday to host.
Perry immediately did what all awards show hosts do—attempt to make culturally relevant jokes.
Unfortunately, a lot of Perry’s bits and one-liners fell flat with the Twitter audience, and plenty of people experienced secondhand embarrassment on behalf of the failed material. Some of Perry’s onstage moments were more cringe than others, at least.
Seconds into her opening monologue, Perry brand-dropped Yeezys and pulled a red dress and bonnet from a rolling rack in reference to A Handmaid’s Tale.
“Very retro pilgrim,” she said, making light of a show about the commodification of women’s bodies, rape, and totalitarianism.
Perry also played with a fidget spinner because, you know, that’s what the kids are doing.
Later in the show, Perry flirted (?) with Harry Styles and stroked her own breast while addressing him.
Katy Perry mentioned Harry at the #VMAS pic.twitter.com/r3IUt8zq4Q
— 1D Updates (@1DBreakUpdates) August 28, 2017
In some upsetting syntactic gymnastics, Perry managed to work “shooketh” into a sentence before saying, “My wig is snatched.” It was rough. So rough.
katy perry just said "shooketh" and snatched her own wig on stage…….. #VMAs pic.twitter.com/Bs3V5GXwKT
— v ૐ (@ohsnapitz_val) August 28, 2017
Katy Perry blows tf out of me. She is literally the epitome of a White woman. "wig snatched!!!!1!1!1!1" pic.twitter.com/TyjFFUBAiO
— Beka 🇭🇹 (@bekalectus) August 28, 2017
When Katy snatched her own wig #VMAs pic.twitter.com/9NkDAxZqoH
— whats a brush? (@TwoSevenAnt) August 28, 2017
In general, people cringed.
Whoever wrote Katy Perry's script for the #VMAs , I just want to let you know it's next level cringe worthy 😳 #makeitstop
— Behati Prinsloo (@BeePrinsloo) August 28, 2017
Everytime Katy Perry comes on screen #VMAs pic.twitter.com/J4QPdUGCb1
— angryboi (@justdaylan) August 28, 2017
I'm sorry but @katyperry should not be hosting 🙄🙄#Vmas pic.twitter.com/csxxrGd9wv
— Danielle kyiere (@danielle_kyiere) August 28, 2017
Even celebrities in the VMAs audience were cringing—or at least staring blankly into space and not laughing.
Jack Antonoff bored and eating a banana during Katy Perry's intro is all of us watching this intro. #VMAs pic.twitter.com/QXgE3H3VIM
— Hunter Ingram (@hunter_wesley) August 28, 2017
Omfg Ellen and Portia's reaction to Katy Perry's "jokes" #VMAS pic.twitter.com/FQfUM1G4LU
— FionaUpdates (@cborgione) August 28, 2017
Overall, Perry’s jokes at the VMAs were the equivalent of your mom picking up on a trend months after it’s over. Or this.
Katy Perry is like when straight people find memes 4 months after they were popular.
— sami (@smibkr) August 28, 2017