Millions online fall for Katy Perry hoax – for second year running

Katy Perry won widespread praise for her spectacular showing at this week’s Met Gala. There was just one problem with the photos.

A.I.-generated photos of Katy Perry’s Met Gala outfit have fooled the internet … for the second year running.

Perry wasn’t present at this year’s Gala, which took place on Tuesday at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

But as the red carpet arrivals kicked off, and dozens of celebs arrived in quick succession, photos of Perry posing on the red carpet soon circulated on social media.

Fans praised the singer for her outfit, a deconstructed suit jacket with a draped, liquid-look skirt.

A.I. pictures of Katy Perry at the Met Gala.

A.I. pictures of Katy Perry at the Met Gala.

There was just one problem: Perry wasn’t actually in attendance. She skipped the Met Gala this year, as she’s midway through her Lifetimes World Tour.

The images have been shared far and wide on social media platforms, amassing millions of views and thousands of comments – most gushing over the star’s look, with only a handful piping up to explain that the images are in fact A.I.-generated.

Even Perry herself spoke up, writing in the comments section of one viral post:

“Couldn’t make it to the MET, I’m on The Lifetimes Tour (see you in Houston tomorrow IRL️) P.s. this year I was actually with my mom so she’s safe from the bots but I’m praying for the rest of y’all.”

Met Gala fans will remember that exactly the same thing happened last year: As the red carpet arrivals rolled in, a spectacular image circulated of Perry, posing on the MOMA steps

wearing an ivory gown embroidered with flowers and moss.

Last year’s A.I. Katy Perry hoax. Is this gonna be an annual thing now?

MORE:‘Greedy’ Katy Perry slammed for ‘unforgivable’ act

That photo fooled many – including Perry’s own mother, who saw it online and texted her daughter to tell her she looked “gorgeous.” Perry later shared screenshots of the text exchange on social media.

Perhaps Perry’s better off skipping the Met Gala in future and leaving it to A.I., which seems to get better fashion reviews than she does – lest we forget her efforts at the 2019 Met Gala, where she arrived dressed as a chandelier and quick-changed into a hamburger for the after-party:

No, the theme was not “Beacon Lighting sale.” Picture: Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Bet Anna Wintour just LOVED This one. Picture: Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Perry will finish up the US leg of her Lifetimes tour in Dallas later this month before heading down under in June to perform 15 arena dates across the country.

Perry copped an A.I. backlash of her own recently, as early fan reviews of her tour included complaints about the “cheap” production values – including Perry’s apparent use of A.I. imagery in her video backdrops.

Footage of Perry performing the song Lifetimes showed the star on stage in front of a video compilation of happy, smiling revellers – but they weren’t live shots from the audience, and instead look suspiciously AI-generated.

Pundits on social media dubbed the apparent use of A.I. imagery “zero effort and low budget,” and it appears Perry listened – those videos were replaced by live shots of the audience at later shows.

Originally published as Millions online fall for Katy Perry hoax – for second year running