Why Did Katy Perry Support Rick Caruso And His Unsuccessful Bid For Mayor Of LA?

While Rick Caruso, who reportedly spent $100 million running to be Los Angeles’ next mayor, lost to Democrat Karen Bass, he still received a lot of support from prominent celebrities ahead of the election. One of them being pop star Katy Perry, who faced backlash from fans after supporting the Republican candidate… who only switched to being a Democrat in January.

“I am voting for a myriad of reasons but in particular because Los Angeles is a hot mess atm,” Perry posted, complete with an image of her posing with her ballot, as she clearly voted for Caruso. She also included some colorful hashtags like #doyoubutjustuseyourvoteok and eventually turned off the comments.

Perry’s fans were shocked by the move, as she previously had voted for Hilary Clinton and advocated for maintaining Roe V. Wade. Meanwhile, Caruso’s past policies include being linked to anti-abortion organizations and pledging $1 million to seemingly support abortion rights (but never donating).

Other Caruso supporters include Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian, so at least Perry can place herself in normal billionaire company. “Los Angeles is fortunate to have someone like Rick Caruso running for mayor,” Musk wrote in a now-deleted tweet. “He’s awesome.”

“Elon, thank you for your support. L.A. is the greatest city in the world. I would be honored to be her next mayor and serve the city that I love,” Caruso replied. Despite all of his vocal celebrity supporters, Bass still won the mayoral election.

View some additional fan reactions to Katy Perry’s polling pick below.