The Rolling Stone Blog

Katy Perry Talks Body Image, Fame and Politics in Rolling Stone Cover Story

By | The Rolling Stone Blog – Wed, Jun 22, 2011 9:42 AM EDT

In the new issue of Rolling Stone, on stands and in the digital archive on June 24th, Katy Perry takes contributing editor Erik Hedegaard backstage at the kick-off of her California Dreams Tour. Between the elaborate rehearsals and three-hour make-up sessions, Perry reveals that she's recently undergone a political awakening. "It just feels like the thing running our country is a bank, money," she says. "I know it sounds like an intense viewpoint, but I'm only slowly but surely getting the wool taken off my eyes. When I was a kid, I asked questions about my faith. Now I'm asking questions about the world."

She continues: "I think we are largely in desperate need of revolutionary change in the way our mindset is. Our priority is fame, and people's wellness is way low. I saw this knowing full well that I'm a part of the problem. I'm playing the game, though I am trying to reroute. Anyway, not to get all politically divulging and introspective, but the fact that America doesn't have free health care drives me f**king absolutely crazy, and is so wrong."

Other highlights from the story:

  • It took Perry a while to learn to embrace her body. "I started praying for [breasts] when I was, like, 11," she says. "And God answered that prayer above and beyond, by, like, 100 times, until I was like, 'Please, stop, God. I can't see my feet anymore. Please stop!' I was a lot more rectangular then. I didn't understand my body. Someone in sixth grade called me 'Over-the-shoulder boulder holder.' I didn't know I could use them. So, what I did was, I started taping them down. How long did I tape them down for? Probably until I was about 19. And, no, I don't have any psychological pain because of it."
  • Perry is the first artist to ever have at least one song ranked in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 for a full year - but she remains a polarizing figure. "Whenever people ask me about having bad reviews, I'm like, 'Have you seen the run I've had? Have you see the numbers?'" she says. "Numbers do not lie!" At the same time, she recognizes the limitations of pop music. "I'm not a dummy," she says. "I know 'California Gurls' isn't going to save the world. But I got a lot of heart from my upbringing and I put a lot of heart in my songs."
  • She's recently become obsessed with the History Channel show Ancient Aliens. "Oh my God," she says. "When it talks about the sky people , how everyone comes from the sky and how the Pyramids were used for star observations, it's too much for me. It all seems to connect the dots. It's blowing my mind."

Watch Katy Perry's Sexy, Silly 'Rolling Stone' Cover Shoot

More Katy Perry: Exclusive Photos and Quotes: Katy Perry's Rolling Stone Cover Shoot

 

News for You

  • The new consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony

    NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft is the last of the three big video game console makers to unveil its latest gaming system. The unveiling comes nearly eight years after the Xbox 360 went on sale. It follows last fall's debut of Nintendo's Wii U and a preview in February of the upcoming PlayStation 4 from Sony.

  • Singer Kellie Pickler named new 'Dancing' champ

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kellie Pickler came into the final "Dancing With the Stars" episode in second place but finished in first.

  • Woman on Trump: 'Somebody had to stand up to him'

    CHICAGO (AP) — An 87-year-old woman who alleges Donald Trump cheated her in a skyscraper-condo sale told jurors Monday she had qualms about suing the real estate mogul and TV celebrity. But, she quickly added, "Somebody had to stand up to him."

  • Disney-owned ESPN cutting hundreds of jobs: source

    By Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - ESPN, the sports channel that is Walt Disney Co's most profitable unit, is cutting 300 to 400 jobs across the company and closing a small Denver office, a person with knowledge of the cuts said. The job cuts, comprising 4 to 6 percent of ESPN's staff of 7,000, include open positions that will not be filled, said the source, who asked not to be named because the information is not public. But ESPN will continue hiring for other open positions, the person said. The channel has recently won rights to exclusive coverage of the U.S. ...

  • Man pleads guilty in Picasso vandalism case

    HOUSTON (AP) — A man accused of vandalizing a 1929 Pablo Picasso painting in a Houston museum — an act that was caught on cellphone video — agreed Tuesday to a two-year prison term as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

  • NY Cuomo letter warns Kardashian over T-shirt logo

    ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's sent a letter to Khloe Kardashian informing the reality star the logo on her T-shirt line may be violating copyright law.

Show More