Katy Perry ignited a political controversy Tuesday night when she donned Taiwan’s flag as a cape during her concert in Taipei, as well as a dress covered in sunflowers — the symbol of Taiwan’s anti-China protest, known as the Sunflower Student Movement, last spring.
Taiwan has been the center of controversy for some time. Many countries, including the United States, consider Taiwan an independent nation, while others believe Taiwan falls under the People’s Republic of China.
Katy Perry has become a semi-hero in the country that firmly believes it is independent. According to Entertainment Weekly, her seemingly pro-Taiwan stance brought tears to the eyes of concert-goers and social media blew up with the news of her apparent solidarity.
However, was Katy Perry truly making a statement about Taiwan?
Katy Perry’s latest controversial outfit is surprisingly political: http://t.co/dhelc6TotY pic.twitter.com/SmWfqSfXJW
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) April 30, 2015
Before she started her set, Katy Perry told the audience she couldn’t speak the language.
“I don’t even know how to speak Mandarin,” Katy Perry told concert-goers. “That’s what you speak, right?”
The sunflower dress is not new. Katy Perry previously wore it during her Prismatic tour. Granted, donning Taiwan’s flag is, if anything, acknowledgement that the nation is sovereign. Or maybe not.
Katy Perry may have made a political statement with her latest concert outfit: http://t.co/2ADf3BcVBS pic.twitter.com/6osC3kEZdD
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) April 29, 2015
Needless to say China pulled out its digital eraser and deleted references to Katy Perry’s makeshift cape from social media, which only fueled speculation that she was making a political stance.
While it’s unclear whether Katy Perry was making a political statement intentionally, she has certainly not been shy about her political views. Last year, Katy joked about writing Hillary Clinton a theme song and campaigned for President Obama.
Katy Perry has not commented on the brouhaha boiling up over a flag cape and an innocuous sunflower dress.
Do you think Katy Perry intentionally chose her outfit to make a political stance?