Katy Perry on Her Strict Evangelical Upbringing: 'I Didn't Have a Childhood'
Pop star Katy Perry isn’t shy when it comes to flaunting her body and strutting her stuff with sexually provocative routines and outfits.
Another aspect where the E.T. singer knows no shyness is talking about what it was like growing up with strict evangelical parents.
In an interview out in the latest edition of Vanity Fair magazine, Perry talks about the more constraining aspects of her upbringing.
Forget Dr. Seuss, the only thing Perry says her mother read to her was the Bible, and buying non-Christian music was also a no no.
“I didn’t have a childhood,” said Perry, who was formerly a Christian music artist under the name Katy Hudson before going mainstream.
She also said she feared Planned Parenthood.
"Growing up, seeing 'Planned Parenthood', it was considered like the abortion clinic. I was always scared I was going to get bombed when I was there."
When it comes to her beliefs nowadays, she’s pretty relaxed. Her husband, comedian Russell Brand, meanwhile, is interested in Hinduism.
“In my faith, you’re just supposed to have faith. At this point, I’m just kind of a drifter. I’m open to possibility,” she said.
With Brand, she’s happy to let him do his own thing and pursue his own spiritual beliefs.
“I come from a very non-accepting family, but I’m very accepting,” the popular singer said.
“Russell is into Hinduism, and I’m not really involved in it. He meditates in the morning and the evening and I’m starting to do it more because it really centers me. But I just let him be him, and he lets me be me.”
Right now, the singer said she is happy to soak in all the experiences life is throwing her way.
“My sponge is so big and wide and I’m soaking everything up and my mind has been radically expanded.”
Her parents have, in the past, expressed their disappointment with their daughter’s artistic style and messaging, but they’re still a family in spite of their strong differences.
“We coexist,” said Perry. “I don’t try to change them anymore, and I don’t think they try to change me. We agree to disagree.”
