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"Firework" singer Katy Perry was criticized after she posted a photo of herself voting in the midterm elections revealing she backed former Republican Rick Caruso to be the next Mayor of Los Angeles.
Perry posted a photo to Instagram showing her giving a thumbs-up next to the ballot which shows she voted for Caruso, the billionaire founder and former chief executive officer of Caruso real-estate company.
Perry noted she is voting "for a myriad of reasons" but particularly because Los Angeles "is a hot mess [at the moment]."
You can see Perry's post below.
Caruso is a devout Catholic who switched his registration from Republican to Democrat in January, just short of when he announced his mayoral campaign.
He has characterized himself as pro-abortion and pro-reproductive rights, but an LA Magazine interview he gave in 2007 revealed he opposed abortion “in most cases."
Additionally, Caruso made donations to anti-abortion politicians right up until this year. While he reportedly pledged $1 million to support an abortion rights proposition, he has yet to donate any of those funds.
Perry herself has advocated for reproductive freedom and been associated with the Democratic Party, performing at former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's gathering at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2016.
Perry comes from a religious conservative background and as a child frequently moved across the country as her very strict parents set up churches. While not strictly identifying as religious, she has stated she prays regularly "for self-control, for humility."
But mere days ago, she posted a pro-choice video from the TikTok account @roevbros, which has gone viral after its host asked men how menstruation works and received wildly incorrect answers.
\u201c#VOTE\u201d— KATY PERRY (@KATY PERRY) 1667783940
Many of Perry's fans reacted negatively.
They accused her of hypocrisy at a time when the future of reproductive rights is very much on the line.
\u201cI love all the horrible LA celebrities (Chris Pratt, Katy Perry, etc.) making pro-Caruso posts that are like The City Is Falling Apart and all they mean is that they have to occasionally see unhoused people from their limos, that's it\u201d— Joseph Fink, \ud83d\udc7b\ud83c\udf83healthcare is a human right\ud83c\udf83\ud83d\udc7b (@Joseph Fink, \ud83d\udc7b\ud83c\udf83healthcare is a human right\ud83c\udf83\ud83d\udc7b) 1667871036
\u201cAs much as the right try to spin it, Katy Perry voting for Rick Caruso is not an indication of anything other than a rich white woman voting for a fake democrat who will ultimately have no effect on the quality of her life but will worsen the lives of many others.\u201d— Travon (@Travon) 1667868626
\u201cKaty Perry just voted for a Republican. This is why I have less faith in her demographic (especially when it comes to voting at the ballot box).\u201d— The Chanteezy Is Real \u2649\ufe0f (@The Chanteezy Is Real \u2649\ufe0f) 1667935625
\u201cKaty Perry voting for Republican Rick Caruso for LA Mayor\n\nThis just shows you just how bad things have gotten. That a celebrity would not only vote R -- but then publicly post it is something else. You could say the energy is shifting.\u201d— Kyle Kashuv (@Kyle Kashuv) 1667857201
\u201ckaty perry tweeting out a pro-choice video while voting for rick caruso would be objectively hilarious if it wasn\u2019t painfully dumb.\u201d— Kyler Bondura (@Kyler Bondura) 1667884377
\u201cAre people just learning Katy Perry is trash? Was the queerbaiting and exploitation of the gay community not a big enough clue for yall \ud83e\uddd0\u201d— Chuck Todd's shamble bangs (@Chuck Todd's shamble bangs) 1667909415
\u201cKaty Perry\u2019s politics should surprise no one, considering her background\u2026 wait until y\u2019all figure out that the majority of your faves are publicly liberal and privately conservative. It\u2019s the most profitable and safest stance for multimillionaires who wish to avoid criticism.\u201d— Tom Cruise\u2019s Shoe Lifts (@Tom Cruise\u2019s Shoe Lifts) 1667938402
\u201ci don't wanna see katy perry, kim, gwyneth paltrow and every other celebrity who voted for that candidate crying online about reproductive rights and lgbt rights being taken away when they broadcasted to the world that they're voting for a candidate against those rights\u201d— Tayonc\u00e9 Defense Attorney is Glitchy (@Tayonc\u00e9 Defense Attorney is Glitchy) 1667913595
Perry isn't the only celebrity to vote for Caruso.
Reality star Kim Kardashian, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, rapper Snoop Dogg, actor Chris Pratt, and billionaire Elon Musk have also voted for Caruso. Kardashian, Patrow, and Snoop have publicly supported efforts to enshrine reproductive freedom into law.