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.
How do you do, fellow kids?Later in the show, Perry flirted (?) with Harry Styles and stroked her own breast while addressing him.
https://twitter.com/1DBreakUpdates/status/901983946145230854
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
https://twitter.com/bekalectus/status/901986633326764032
https://twitter.com/TwoSevenAnt/status/901986668147814401
In general, people cringed.
https://twitter.com/BeePrinsloo/status/901970400178880512
Everytime Katy Perry comes on screen #VMAs pic.twitter.com/J4QPdUGCb1
— ᴅᴀʏʟᴀɴ (@dayjonessmith) August 28, 2017
https://twitter.com/danielle_kyiere/status/901969362646650880
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
— Chris (@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.
https://twitter.com/smibkr/status/901969647930626050