Katy Perry is receiving heat for thanking Elon Musk. (Getty)
Pop superstar Katy Perry is being slammed by her LGBTQ+ fans for thanking Tesla founder Elon Musk for sending her a new Cybertruck car.
In a post on X/Twitter, which is currently owned by Musk, Perry shared a photo of herself standing in front of her army green Cybertruck, her hand placed on its bonnet.
She unfortunately captioned it with “thx for the delivery @elonmusk,” alongside a hashtag reading “idol”, in reference to her role as an American Idol judge.
In the replies, Musk was there to tell her that the Cybertruck “looks good” – despite around 4,000 of them having to be recalled by Tesla due to having accelerator pedals that stick when pressed down.
Alongside Musk, Perry’s comment section was flooded with an endless number of fans slamming the “Roar” singer for publicly endorsing the controversial businessman.
The 39-year-old’s LGBTQ+ fans were particularly disappointed at her gratitude for him, considering his views on trans people.
Since taking over Twitter/X in 2022, Musk has been accused of making the social media platform increasingly dangerous for trans users. In 2023, the platform rolled back a policy which protected trans users from deadnaming and misgendering – though the policy has reportedly since been quietly reinstated.
Research also found that anti-LGBTQ+ slurs skyrocketed on the platform following Musk’s takeover, while Musk himself has incorrectly dubbed the term “cis” as in “cisgender” a “heterosexual slur“.
Also in 2022, the billionaire entrepreneur was slammed for sharing an anti-vax meme which mocked LGBTQ+ people, women and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Unsurprisingly, Katy Perry fans have dubbed the singer “embarrassing” for her Musk thank you post.
“Imagine marrying Russell Brand not being the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done,” one person wrote, in a post that has been viewed more than one million times.
girl… https://t.co/f8FsNBCaKb pic.twitter.com/AO526g8fo0
— eros (@screamsivann) April 23, 2024
“Palling around with Elon Musk feels like a political decision at this point,” added queer influencer Matt Bernstein.
“Katy Perry is officially no longer part of the LGBT community,” a third fan declared.
As Perry gears up to release her new, currently-untitled album, some fans are urging her to be careful about who she aligns herself with.
Others are urging her to return the vehicle, if for no other reason than due to the safety recall.
Meanwhile, some of the star’s fans, dubbed KatyCats, have decried it “hypocritical” to call out Perry and not other mega celebrities who have also used the Cybertruck.
Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Jay-Z and Justin Bieber have all been spotted hanging out in Cybertrucks, among other celebrities.
