Twitter Is Dragging Prince Charles Because He Made Katy Perry an Ambassador for the British Asian Trust
Prince Charles appointed Katy Perry as the ambassador for the British Asian Trust.
Katy is neither British nor Asian.
Katy will reportedly work to "reduce child trafficking and abuse in India."
Yesterday, Prince Charles was seen hanging in front of a wall that said "British Asian Trust" along with his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Indian businesswoman Natasha Poonawalla. But, uh, Katy Perry was also there, and it turns out she was just appointed as the ambassador for the organization, which is not sitting well with Twitter right now.
Let's get one thing out of the way: Katy is by no stretch of the imagination Asian or British. Seriously, people are really having a hard time figuring out why she was chosen to be the first non-Asian ambassador to work to "reduce child trafficking and abuse in India" alongside the trust. It seems the only connection she has to Asia is singing about having "the eye of the tiger" and tigers live in Asia, according to one Twitter jokester.
Apparently, Charles appointed her because he met her in Mumbai last year and admired her "long-standing commitment to charitable causes around the world." While doing charity work isn't a bad thing, many are criticizing the move for it's "white savior mentality" and are dragging Charles for choosing someone who doesn't even represent the region. Also, this feels like salt in the wound for many because Katy was once named "pop music's worst cultural appropriator" and once memed a Hindu goddess, which remains on her Instagram feed.
Predictably, critics have taken to Twitter to drag Charles for this decision and Katy for choosing to accept the position:
Tryna comprehend how they came up with Katy Perry fir British Asian ambassador when she's a white American https://t.co/7dlwYmsn47 pic.twitter.com/MaCPoNTlXu
— 🌈💕 (@bisexaulelena) February 4, 2020
mfw I hear Katy Perry is the new ambassador for the British Asian Trust https://t.co/ZQHeLAkf9Y
— Tara Joshi (@tara_dwmd) February 5, 2020
Katy Perry... As a British Asia trust ambassador... I don't know why, but I'd have chosen, hear me out on this one,.. A British Asian person....
I know, crazy, right??? https://t.co/iwwPX7mOCP— Audrey (@AudreyAurus1) February 5, 2020
Trust a white person to always come to the rescue of people of colour because we are so useless that we cant save ourselves, am guessing the prince has never meant a british person with Asian roots before in his life
— dictator lover general akinfolarin🇳🇬 (@anu4real) February 5, 2020
huuuuuuh no offence Katy Perry is great and all but am I reading this right? If you want a 'British Asian' ambassador to represent an ethnic group against something serious like this that is happening in this world, at least fucking get someone who DOES represent that race 🤦♀️ https://t.co/Lt6LKICg18
— s t e p h 🌻 (@steph_txt) February 5, 2020
Scarlett Johansson when Katy Perry was appointed as the British Asian Trust ambassador pic.twitter.com/jgAifePMmV
— -Anthony- (@iisrobot) February 5, 2020
You have to laugh! Its 2020 and folks are really still tone deaf to historical racial & cultural dynamics. No doubt Katy Perry will do a good job, but the optics around this are a little #katyperry #princecharles pic.twitter.com/HLpzYsBPC8
— T for Tori (@T___says) February 5, 2020
As with everything, there are two sides to this and some have come to Katy's defense. Nihal Arthanayake, a current ambassador for the organization, tweeted:
"Last night I asked @katyperry onstage in a Q&A how people had said to me that her being an Ambassador was a bit "random" She replied that she is passionate about combating the suffering of children and can do something about it. Amazing that she uses her platform."
Another ambassador added, "Supporting those in need in South Asia isn’t just the job of British Asians. She cares. And so should you."
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