Following a whirlwind weekend partying at Coachella to the likes of Lorde, The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar, Katy Perry has now come under fire for a recent photograph posted to Instagram.
Yesterday, the 'Kissed A Girl' singer – who recently split from long-time boyfriend, Orlando Bloom – uploaded a photograph to her 63.5million Instagram followers of an Indian goddess, along with the caption 'current mood'.
As a result, the post has received over 12,000 comments varying in tone, most of them claiming the singer's image disrespects Indian culture.
One commenter wrote: 'Please Katy!! Don't use such type of Indian God's and Goddess' pics to represent our mood..Do you know what this pic means and what's the story behind it?'
Another said: 'How ridiculous this? You don't have permission to upload a picture of our goddess on this f**king social media and embarrassing our culture.'
A third commented: 'Are you serious? You're using pics of our Goddesses as memes?'
According to Instagram users, the image depicts the Hindu goddess, Kali, seen to be a divine protector.
The news of Perry's Instagram blunder comes days after Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel – who is engaged to model Miranda Kerr (Bloom's ex wife) – is alleged to have referred to India as a 'poor' country, according to a former Variety employee.
It appears Perry has had a long interest in Indian culture, having married her now ex-husband, comedian Russell Brand, in the north Indian state of Rajasthan with a traditional Indian ceremony.
Most recently, the Santa Barbara-born star has opened up about her struggle with religion following her devout Christian upbringing that saw her attend Church three times a week with her family.
'That was my whole childhood and youth and early teens. I still have conditioned layers dropping off of me by the day,' she told Vogue.
Do you think Perry's Instagram post is controversial? Let us know your thoughts @ELLEUK
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
