Katy Perry on Barbara Walters, John Mayer and feeling suicidal
KATY Perry says her imminent split from husband Russell Brand was behind her angering TV veteran Barbara Walters by turning up late to an interview.
Celebrity
Don't miss out on the headlines from Celebrity. Followed categories will be added to My News.
KATY Perry says her imminent split from husband Russell Brand was behind her angering TV veteran Barbara Walters by turning up late to an interview.
In a new interview with Billboard magazine, Perry recalls the exhausting and stressful period in her life. "When I got there, I apologised immediately, but then she said to me, 'You know, I've only ever waited for one other person this long, and you know who that person was? Judy Garland. You know how she turned out, right?' I was like, 'Oh, snap! Yes, bitch!'"
Perry nevertheless chose to remain quiet on the real reason for her lateness. "I just couldn't tell her as we were sitting down for a mega-interview, 'Hey, my marriage is falling apart. Give me a break'," she says.
The dressing down doesn't seem to have left any permanent wounds: "I think it's the coolest thing that Barbara Walters shaded me."
As the adage goes, "the show must go on" and not only did Perry make time for the television interview; she performed later that day at New York's Madison Square Garden.
In the comprehensive interview about her forthcoming album Prism, to be released October 22, Perry gives a clue to just how dire that time in her life was, as evidenced by some of her lyrics. The line "You sent a text/It's like the wind changed your mind" from Ghost refers to Brand's way of letting her know he wanted a divorce. In another song, By the Grace of God, Perry describes lying on the floor of a bathroom, battling suicidal thoughts.
"That song is evident of how tough it really was at a certain point. I asked myself, 'Do I want to endure? Should I continue living?'" Perry says.
It is not all pain and anguish, however, with the album title itself a reference to her wide spectrum of emotions, including love. She credits boyfriend and fellow musical artist John Mayer with coming up with it.
"He literally is a genius, as is evident from his songwriting. I always tell him, 'Darling, you know I'm going to have to give your mind to science after you've passed, because we're going to have to understand how all these sparks work'," she says. "We'll be in bed, and he'll be doing the crossword puzzle. Every night, he tries to finish it in under 10 minutes. When he puts his mind to something, he really gets it done very well. I always ask for his help."
The collaboration and wordplay goes beyond the bedroom for the loved-up couple, including the duet Who You Love, that Perry and Mayer perform on Mayer's recent album Paradise Valley, as well as co-writing and performance credits for Mayer on Perry's Prism.