To Katy Perry, Who Mocked Mental Health on the Red Carpet

Dear Katy Perry,

Mental health is not a joke. And someone’s breakdown isn’t something to laugh about. Your not one, but two displays of immaturity during the red carpet were in poor taste.

Katy Perry shaded Britney Spears about her public meltdown, in two different interviews on the #GRAMMYs red carpet. pic.twitter.com/bfTx7biiZh

— Pop Crave (@PopCravings) February 13, 2017

As someone who openly struggles with depression, and who has been hospitalized on a 5150, like Britney, I find that your comedic answers to the interview questions, saying you were moments away from shaving your head and having a “public meltdown,” are the reason there is a stigma around mental illness in the first place.

I’m not sure what caused you to direct attention away from taking about your own mental health onto someone else. As a celebrity, I trust you know how much power your words hold in creating change… or upholding stereotypes. I trust you know how hurtful words can be.

Next time you’re presented with the opportunity to talk about your mental health, I invite you to answer authentically. Our society is overloaded with sugar coated answers and distractions, and is in desperate need of truth. Next time, please use your words to spread love.

Sincerely,
Veronica Lombo

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