katy perry teenage dream
[Photo via YouTube]

Katy Perry accused of sexual assault by “Teenage Dream” video co-star

Katy Perry has been accused of sexual assault by a former music video co-star. Josh Kloss appeared in the singer’s “Teenage Dream” video in 2010, which just passed its nine-year anniversary this weekend.

Kloss states he was planning to cover the track on ukulele to celebrate the anniversary but decided against. Instead, he stated women should be held accountable like men, and he didn’t want to help her “BS image another second.”

Read more: Waterparks reveal ‘Fandom’ date with “Watch What Happens Next” video

The “Teenage Dream” video features Perry with Kloss as her love interest on a road trip. The model explains that Perry was “cool and kind” except on set where she was “cold as ice” and said kissing him was “gross.”

He explains he saw Perry a few times after she split from ex-husband Russell Brand whom she divorced in 2012. One particular interaction was at Perry’s costume designer and stylist Johnny Wujek’s birthday party. Kloss and a friend attended the gathering at rollerskating rink Moonlight Rollerway in Glendale, California.

There, Kloss alleges Perry “pulled [his] Adidas sweats and underwear out as far as she could to show a couple of her guy friends and the crowd around us [his] penis.”

You can see the music video Kloss appeared in and read his full statement below.

“You know. After I met Katy, we sang a worship song, ‘Open The Eyes Of My Heart.’ She was cool and kind. When other people were around, she was cold as ice [and] even called the act of kissing me ‘gross’ to the entire set while filming.

Now, I was pretty embarrassed but kept giving my all. As my ex was busy cheating on me and my daughter was just a toddler, I knew I had to endure for her sake. After the first day of shooting, Katy invited me to a strip club in Santa Barbara. I declined and told her ‘I have to go back to hotel and rest, because this job is all I have right now.’

Read more: Katy Perry copyright trial could bring Myspace views into play

“So I saw Katy a couple times after her break up with Russell. This one time I brought a friend who was dying to meet her. It was Johnny Wujek’s birthday party at Moonlight Rollerway. And when I saw her, we hugged and she was still my crush. But as I turned to introduce my friend, she pulled my Adidas sweats and underwear out as far as she could to show a couple of her guy friends and the crowd around us my penis. Can you imagine how pathetic and embarrassed I felt?

“I just say this now because our culture is set on proving men of power are perverse, but females with power are just as disgusting. So for all her good she is an amazing leader, hers songs are mainly great empowering anthems.

Read more: Katy Perry throwback video shows time on Warped Tour

“And that is it. I continued to watch her use clips of her music videos for her world tour and then her DVD, only highlighting one of her male co-stars, and it was me. I made around $650 in total off of “Teenage Dream.” I was lorded over by her reps about not discussing a single thing about anything regarding Katy publicly. And a couple interviews they edited and answered for me.

“So, happy anniversary to one of the most confusing, assaulting, and belittling jobs I’ve ever done. Yay #teenagedream I was actually gonna play the song and sing it on ukulele for the anniversary, but then as I was tuning I thought, ‘Fuck this, I’m not helping her BS image another second.’”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1CFg2xFG-C/

At the time of publication, neither Perry nor her team have released a statement but this will be updated should one be released. However, today, Kloss has shared another post outlining the stipulations he had to agree to after the “Teenage Dream” video.

“I was supposed to minimize myself and stay PC to protect her ‘image.’ I listened and was a good boy. The fear sticks with you when you are censored to protect someone else’s image. But in return treated like a prostitute and exposed in front of a group of her friends and other random people.

Read more: Katy Perry once protested at a Marilyn Manson concert

Then you are shocked and you block it out because you watch the face of children being uplifted by positive music she sang. And your mind is stuck trying to do your job and protect her bs image or be honest and help the global dialogue about power and abuse. And you hear over and over a million times that Males are the great evil on this planet. Meanwhile you know the truth POWER empowers what is corrupt in people, regardless of their gender.

“Folks I am putting us both out on display to increase and enlighten everyone. I don’t want money for this, Many of you project your own ambitions. I don’t want fame from this, that is why I stomached it and kept working, and kept supporting the “teenage dream” image.
And this anniversary, and time elapse made me realize hey now is the time to let it out and let it go. Not one more day of hearing ‘How was Katy Perry?’”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1EL7Zkl5H_/

This isn’t the first time someone Perry has worked directly with has come forward about an experience that made them uncomfortable. In 2018, American Idol moved from FOX to ABC with the singer joining the judges panel alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.

Read more: Katy Perry smoked weed out of an apple and Telle Smith lived to tell the tale

During auditions, 19-year-old Benjamin Glaze told the judges he’d never been kissed. Perry offered her cheek as his first kiss. After a light peck, Perry told him to do it again but quickly turned her head and planted one on his lips. Glaze told the New York Times he was “a tad bit uncomfortable” as he wanted to save his first kiss for a relationship. He also says he would’ve declined the offer had she been truthful with her intentions.

However, following several interviews, Glaze took to Instagram to clarify his comments and state he didn’t feel he was being sexually harassed. You can see video of the American Idol interaction below.

See more: 10 surprising artists you won’t believe appeared on AP’s cover

[envira-gallery id=”194356″]

Categories: