Girl Sh-t first.
So, as you know,Katy Perry’sSwish Swishwas released last week. And she says that it’s not aboutTaylor Swift. Or at least that’swhat she told Jimmy Fallonthe other night, explaining the song like this:
“I think it’s a great anthem for people whenever someone’s trying to hold you down or bully you. There ya go. I’ll leave it at that.”
OK but last night she did Carpool Karaoke with James Corden. And when he said to her that,“There’s no denying it. There’s Taylor beef. And when are we going to clear that beef up?”– this was her response,straight up:
SoSwish SwishIS about Taylor then? Because it sure sounds like it. And if it is, why are we playing word games here? The full video of the karaoke segment, by the way, is embedded below. You’ll note she throws in a “karma” at the end there after she claims she does the right thing so I’m not sure anyone is any less petty than the other. Petty is all around. And Petty is making headlines. Which, for Katy, might be kind of a setback, because the headline that’s most interesting from aShow Your Workperspective is the one about how much she’s getting paid to be a judge onAmerican Idol. According toTMZit’s $25 million:
Multiple sources tell us ABC was desperate to sign a name before the Upfronts last week, when honchos announced she was the lead judge. As one source put it, "Katy had all the leverage. If ABC ended up announcing the show without a judge, they'd be screwed."
TMZbroke a story way back in 2012 that 'A.I.' was trying to get Katy as a judge but she rejected the network's $20 mil offer.
As we reported, ABC tried to get Kelly Clarkson but at the last minute she jumped ship and went to NBC's "The Voice." NBC also snagged Jennifer Hudson.
We're also told ABC is "on the verge" of signing the deal with Ryan Seacrest to host the show. Sources connected with the first run of 'Idol' tell us Ryan was making $15 mil a season at his high point. We're told Jennifer Lopez was also raking in $15 mil a season. So Katy blew them both away.
I would like to believe that these sources had the all-clear from Katy to leak this information. That she wants this out there. Because this is good work. This is knowing where to work from and leveraging that position. As we’ve seen, even in Hollywood, we’ve heard of women, seemingly powerful women, who are afraid to ask for what they want. Jennifer Lawrence’s essay for Lenny Letter was exactly about that. And so here’s Katy Perry not just negotiating to her full advantage but maybe letting it get out there that that’s how she played it. That she took advantage of the situation and secured the best outcome in her favour, while those TV executives gnash their teeth over how much they had to hand over.
