"‘Online’ world tries to make me a human Piñata" — Katy Perry pens a note about critics while thanking her fans for the Times Square billboard

Katy Perry recently penned a long note thanking her fans for supporting her while addressing the criticism that came her way for her part in the Blue Origin space flight. For the unversed, the pop star was part of the all-female six-person crew that embarked on an 11-minute space flight aboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin on April 14.

The flight faced immense backlash from celebrities and activists alike for its tone-deaf motives, with Katy Perry bearing the brunt of the criticism. On April 29, Perry's fans purchased a billboard in Times Square to show her love and congratulate her on the first week of her "Lifetimes Tour."

The message was then shared by one of Katy Perry's fan pages, @katyperrybrasil, on Instagram. Following this, Katy Perry took to the comments section to pen a thoughtful and lengthy comment about the support. She also touched on the criticism for the Blue Origin trip, writing:

“When the ‘online’ world tries to make me a human Piñata, I take it with grace and send them love, cause I know so many people are hurting in so many ways and the internet is very much so a dumping ground for unhinged and unhealed."

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"I’m so grateful for you guys" — Katy Perry about fans' support

Katy Perry's 11-minute trip to space was ridiculed and criticized by many, including fellow celebrities like Olivia Munn, Olivia Wilde, Lily Allen, and Emily Ratajkowski, with the latter dubbing the flight "end time s***” in an Instagram video at the time.

“Like this is beyond parody. That you care about Mother Earth and it’s about Mother Earth, and you’re going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that’s single-handedly destroying the planet? Look at the state of the world. Think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. For what? For what? What was the marketing there? I’m disgusted, literally,” Ratajkowski continued.

Fast food chain Wendy's also received flak for tweeting, "Can we send her back," under an X post that mentioned Katy Perry's safe return to Earth.

However, Perry's fans, referred to as KatyCats, who seemingly have their favorite singer's best interest at heart, rented out a Times Square billboard to show their love and support for her. The singer took to Instagram comments to thank KatyCats for their support, writing:

"I’m so grateful for you guys. We’re in this beautiful and wild journey together. I can continue to remain true to myself, heart open and honest especially because of our bond. I love you guys and have grown up together with you and am so excited to see you all over the world this year!"

She reassured fans that she was doing fine despite the online backlash, sharing words of wisdom that her therapist imparted to her.

"Please know I am ok, I have done a lot work around knowing who I am, what is real and what is important to me. My therapist said something years ago that has been a game changer, “no one can make you believe something about yourself that you don’t already believe about yourself” and if I ever do have any feelings about it then it’s an opportunity to investigate the feeling underneath it," Perry wrote.

Katy Perry also wrote about meeting her fans at her ongoing "Lifetimes Tour," adding that seeing their faces every night was helping her heal and vice versa. She continued that though she may get "battered and bruised" on her journey through life, she always kept "looking to the light" to pick herself back up and continue on her path.

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In other news, Katy Perry recently began her "Lifetimes Tour" with the debut show in Mexico City. The tour, launched on April 23 in support of her recent album 143, will continue with the next stop in Houston on May 7, after her shows in Guadalajara were canceled due to the venue still being under construction.