Leave it to Katy Perry to bring some of the most unique fashion to American Idol. However, her most recent style led to a nearly disastrous wardrobe malfunction in the middle of the show. According to an Instagram video the 39-year-old shared on Monday, April 15, her silver, pointed chrome top “broke” and nearly fell off of her while sitting at the judges’ table.
“My top broke,” the “Wide Awake” artist captioned the clip. In the video, a clearly stressed out Katy declared, “I need my top to stay on!” while crew members and Luke Bryan tried to reassemble her unique top with tools. “If it’s not fixed, this show is gonna get more than it wanted,” she added.
Although Luke tried to help out, he quickly gave up, as the top was a difficult piece of fashion to manage. Later in the clip, Katy responded to contestant Roman Collins’ performance of James Brown’s “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”
“That song broke my top off. I guess it’s a woman’s world,” Katy joked. She then ducked under the table and covered her chest with a pillow, adding, “It’s a family show.”
After the nearly-revealing incident, Katy spoke with Entertainment Tonight, clarifying that she didn’t view it as a wardrobe malfunction.
“It wasn’t really a malfunction. It was just a moment for television,” the “California Gurls” singer said. “Every season, it seems I rip my pants. I think it’s the physical comedy, the physical expression side of me that just wants to burst at the seams.”
Katy was referring to the viral moment when her pants ripped on the air in 2022. At the time, she was singing her hit single “Teenage Dream” in front of American Idol contestants when the back of her red leather pants suddenly split.
KATY PERRY HOLY SH*T pic.twitter.com/AY5cmIwhaN
— 🆅𐀔 (@loveperrysk) April 16, 2024
Adding to the hilarity of the recent moment, Lionel Richie playfully accused Luke of breaking Katy’s top.
“Luke knocked the top off, I’ll tell you all the truth,” Lionel told ET. “And then, Luke spent the rest of the time going, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.’ But he was definitely apologetic and then he tried to put it back together and that looked worse than the whole thing.”
Luke, however, maintained that he was only trying to help his fellow judge when he tried to mend the chrome top with pliers.
“At this point in the game, I’m like, ‘What do you need? What do you need? You need a pair of pliers? You need a towel? A bathrobe? What do you need?'” Luke said.