The Chinese government isn’t letting Katy Perry perform at the VS fashion show

Today in WTF news, the Chinese government isn’t letting Katy Perry perform at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show because of an outfit she once wore.

You might assume it’s because Katy has been known to culturally appropriate from time to time, most notoriously during her hot mess of a geisha-inspired AMA performance. But no, apparently the Chinese government had no beef with that particular ensemble. Instead, it’s because she wore a dress with sunflowers on it. Sunflowers, dude!

Katy was originally told she’d be good to go. But then, the Chinese government found out about a performance in 2015 when Katy wore a sunflower dress to a performance in Taiwan. Why does this matter? Because anti-China protestors had chosen the sunflower as their symbol the year before, according to Page Six.

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READ ALSO: Katy Perry’s “Swish Swish” video is very meta

This isn’t the first time an American artist has been denied entry to perform in China because of past seemingly innocuous actions. From Page Six:

“She was initially granted a visa to perform at the VS show in Shanghai, then Chinese officials changed their minds and yanked her visa,” a source explained. “For every artist who wants to perform in China, officials comb through their social-media and press reports to see if they have done anything deemed to be offensive to the country. Maroon 5 was banned a few years ago because one band member wished the Dalai Lama happy birthday on Twitter.”

There’s also speculation that Gigi Hadid is no longer walking in the VS fashion show because China blocked her entry because of a video featuring a Buddha cookie (and herself making squinty eyes) that Bella Hadid posted in February, according to Page Six.

This is a major headache for Victoria’s Secret. Gigi is one of the biggest models in the world and was clearly on her way to Angel status, so losing her is a big blow. Not to mention, now they’ll have to find a new performer to replace Katy Perry — and there’s no guarantee the government will let their new pick in, either.

Guess this is their karmic retribution for discontinuing their swimwear line!


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