Why Would Katy Perry's Mom Sell Her Out With a Tell-All?

Anne Perry Hudson is shopping around a book about, among other things, her singing daughter.

Katy Perry's Mom wants to write a tell-all about her daughter?! Why do so many stage parents turn on their kids like this?
--Kel82, via the inbox

Oh, money, she is a tempting mistress, isn't she? The advance and sales for a popular tell-all can swell into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dolalrs for a greedy truth-minded parent. As for other motives, well, a lot of parents have done this to their kids. Including ...

The mother of the late Brittany Murphy. Last November, she told Radar, "This book will be my way of celebrating and honoring her extraordinary life and career...she was my life. I am looking forward to everyone reading the accurate account about my daughter, her life, loves and career."

Indeed, "setting the record straight" seems to be the go-to spin for blabby stage parents. Per the New York Post, that's the stated motive of Katy Perry's mom, Christian preacher Mary Perry Hudson: "This memoir is her story, in her own words. Mary and Keith Hudson have been Christian evangelists long before the world ever heard of Katy Perry. Amid a torrent of negative reports from magazines and entertainment shows, Mary Hudson wants to tell ‘her story' and dispel a lot of rumors. Katy's success has impacted her ministry in both negative and positive ways."

(So, how to tell ‘her story'? Apparently by telling Katy's. Classy.)

Lastly, there's the plain old me-me-me factor. Sure, fans love Britney Spears, but what does her Mom think about everything? Apparently, someone wanted to know, because Lynne Spears put out her own tell-all—largely about parenting, but somewhat about Brit's breakdown—in 2008. It may sound like an incredible betrayal, but remember: Narcissism is thought to run in families.