Katy Perry Confronts Australian Politician About Gay Marriage, Things Get Awkward—Listen Now!

"Roar" singer tells Tony Abbott, who hopes to be elected Prime Minister, she couldn't vote for him

By Rebecca Macatee Aug 16, 2013 5:00 PMTags
Katy Perry, Tony AbbottFlorian Seyfried/Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Louder, louder, than a lion—you're gonna hear what Katy Perry  thinks!

The "Roar" singer had just a moment to talk to Australia's opposition leader, Tony Abbott on 2Day FM Radio earlier this week, and she went right to the money topic: gay marriage!

Abbott, who's hoping he will be elected Prime Minister during the nation's upcoming Sept. 7, elections, began the chat by keeping things light, telling Katy his daughters "think you're the most wonderful singer," before asking her a "big question."

"Yeah, politics!" Katy, 28, exclaimed. "Yeah!"

But Abbott had thinking more along the lines of pop culture, responding, "When are you coming back? We need you! When are you coming back [to Australia]?"

"Oh, come on, that's not a political question," Katy replied. "Let's talk about gay marriage!"

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Cue the nervous laughter. Abbott, who is strongly opposed to gay marriage, tried to break through the awkwardness, saying, "Now, you're interviewing me, Katy!"

"Yeah, buddy," she said. "That's right. Love is equal."

The host confirmed that gay marriage is "not really something [Abbott] wants to pass."

"Well, um," the pop star began her diplomatic answer, "I love you as a human being, but I can't give you my vote then."

Deep breath for second awkward pause.

"Well, Katy, look uh, you can still come back to Australia," Abbott started after bumbling a moment.

Katy laughed uncomfortably, too, piping in, "But I still wanna meet your daughters!"

That gave Abbott a new direction for the conversation, telling Katy his girls would "love" to meet her, then joked that her 2008 song "Hot n Cold" could be be his anthem.

Katy laughed at that idea, telling Abbott, "I don't know—I don't know if that'd be good for a politician."

She then reassured him she'll be back visiting Australia, sometime this year. 

Abbott told Katy he looked forward "to having a long discussion about politics as well as listening to more of your music when you come later in the year."

Katy suggested lunch, which Abbott said sounded "fantastic."

He heard you ROAR, sistafriend!