Wendy’s tries to soften the blow after dragging Katy Perry, but fans aren’t buying it

It’s all fun and games until someone gets offended by a pop culture reference on social media. It seems the battle between fast-food chain Wendy’s and Grammy-award winner Katy Perry is only heating up, with those close to the singer demanding apologies for some viral X posts related to the recent all-female Blue Origin space flight.

A source close to the “I Kissed a Girl” singer has shed light on the evolving situation, telling People that “Wendy’s didn’t make a joke—they made a choice” in an exclusive published on April 17, 2025.

“Their recent posts on X aimed at Katy Perry were not only disrespectful, but blatantly inappropriate,” the source shared, adding that “This wasn’t harmless banter, this was a billion-dollar brand using its platform to publicly demean a woman.”

The source believed that “Wendy’s should ‘do the right thing’ apologize,” citing one of the brand’s “core values” which also includes treating people with respect and giving back to the community.

Did the burger chain own up to their divisive joke? People included a statement from Wendy’s in the writeup as well, which some have interpreted to be more of a backhanded compliment than a true apology:

“We always bring a little spice to our socials, but Wendy’s has a ton of respect for Katy Perry and her out-of-this-world-talent.”

What did Wendy’s say about Katy Perry?

The drama started on April 14, 2025, after the safe return of the all-female Blue Origin space mission. Singer Katy Perry was part of the six women chosen to launch into space, where she spent a total of 11 minutes from above Earth before returning back home.

Jokes about the “Firework’s vocalist raged across social media, with many hoping the star would stay in space…forever. Wendy’s, known for its snarky social media and pop culture references, joined in on the sentiment with comment under a post from X account @PopCrave:

“Can we send her back.” 

The frosty comment went viral, with social media users lauding the fast-food chain for their surprising level of shade. 

However, it was the statement that shook People’s exclusive source the most. “Telling a woman that she should be ‘sent back’ is shameful bullying,” they explained. “What’s worse is that the face of Wendy’s is a woman, which makes this decision not just hypocritical, but painfully ironic.” 

The burger brand added fuel to the rocket fire with their own original X post that same day, writing, “I kissed the ground and i liked it,” and resharing a pair of images of Katy Perry kissing the ground after leaving the Blue Origin pod. 

Wendy’s trolling sent social media into a frenzy of lols, with rival artist Kesha even joining in, posting an image of herself smiling with a Wendy’s cup which many believed to be a direct dig at Perry, her former friend.

Social media sides with Wendy’s

It wasn’t long after People released the statements that netizens noticed Wendy’s wasn’t exactly ashamed of their involvement with the Blue Origin trolling. Some also came to the defense of the restaurant, saying an apology wasn’t necessary.

X user @MissSassbox pointed out that “Wendy’s admin is a savage to everybody on Twitter” and that “If Wendy’s has to apologize for roasting Katy Perry, then Katy Perry needs to apologize to us for making us listen to a song produced by a sexual predator and not allow someone else to take the blame.”

“Actually I think the earth deserves an apology from Katy Perry for her ‘Blatantly Tone Deaf’ 10 minute ride!” added X user @suspectcelery. “I think Wendy’s wasn’t mean enough tbvh!”

“The Wendy’s social media marketing team had a good run. A great run even,” stated X user @TheFreelyAshley, sharing screenshots of the singer’s fans trashing the Wendy’s X post. “But now it seems they will be canceled for *checks notes* a tame joke about sending Katy Perry back into space. What a way to go.”

Others, like X user @likeathornrose, brought up the fact that Perry could “legally sue wendys for a death threat tweet” and suggested they “delete and apologize. anything involving katy gets a lawsuit they should know that by now.”

This wouldn’t be Perry’s first legal battle however. X user @shaTIRED was so caught by Wendy’s’ musings that they went down a rabbit hole of other Katy Perry controversies. 

“That wendy’s tweet inadvertently taught me that katy perry wanted to buy a property that was a convent so bad that she started a legal battle with nuns for it and one nun collapsed and died of a heart attack during one of the court hearings??? Wth,” they posted, referring to a legal battle the star had over a Los Angeles convent.

Some tried to pinpoint who the “exclusive source” could be. “Granting anonymity to Katy Perry to say she’s mad at Wendy’s,” wrote X user @JayShams on April 18, 2025.  

The social media user speculated in another post that the sentiments likely came from the singer’s PR team, but added that “it would be really funny if ‘a source close to this situation’ was actually the Wendy’s CEO getting mad about their X account.”

But perhaps it’s all a big PR stunt for both parties, according to X user @gibsonoma. “My prediction is that this stupid Katy Perry vs. Wendy’s thing is going to result in her starring in a Super Bowl commercial for Wendy’s next year where she gets left in space,” the posted, resharing the People exclusive.

The Daily Dot reached out to Wendy’s via email and Katy Perry via email, for comment.

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