‘Money is pretty tight’: Katy Perry probably isn’t very happy about her shabby treatment for her British Xmas special

Katy Perry fans are in for a treat this month. In a surprising appearance, the world-famous pop star filmed an ITV special that is set to air in December 2024. Normally, these types of events are fun for everyone involved, but it looks like this time it wasn’t quite like that.

Last week, fans were taken by surprise when Perry announced last-minute tickets for a one-off televised show that was filmed in London. Dubbed “Night of a Lifetime,” the 90-minute concert took place at the Central Hall Westminster, and, since it was televised, everyone thought attendance would be free. It wasn’t, though. Tickets were available for purchase for £143, and up until the latest possible minute of the concert, they weren’t sold out. Oops.

Is there some trouble brewing behind the curtains, or will we be reading too much into a simple, last-minute concert by Perry? Apparently, according to reports, all is not well when it comes to ITV’s financial well-being.

One of the reasons why ITV might have charged fans for attendance is that “money is pretty tight” at the channel (as per PopBitch). Reportedly, the budget was so down in the trenches that Perry had to take up not-so-subtle product placements. If true, and you are planning to catch the telecast of the concert, don’t get antsy if the singer spends several minutes flaunting a brand new shiny watch on your face while singing “Lifetimes.”

The paid tickets and the product placement deals come on the heels of Perry and her husband Orlando Bloom‘s lawsuit that took a hefty bite out of their bank accounts. The couple is currently countersuing the former owner of their Montecito home, who wanted to rescind the property transaction. Perry is now asking for $6 million in damages due to income lost while the lawsuit was taking place.

Perry already has other sources of income on TV lined up after her ITV appearance. She was recently announced as a guest judge for the upcoming Season 17 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. But doesn’t bode well for the “Roar” singer that her presence in the show isn’t really celebrated by fans of the reality competition as confirmed by the reaction to the season’s trailer on Twitter/X.

The ITV special, if truly riddled with product placements, certainly won’t be benefitting from the backlash Perry’s RuPaul Drag Race presence is generating.

At least, she is doing everything in her power to ensure that the ITV concert doesn’t fall flat on its face. In order to tease the ITV event for fans, Perry released an official statement in which she celebrated the trip across the pond.

According to ITV, the “Night of a Lifetime” concert will feature celebrity guests who will join Perry onstage, as well as a number of A-list attendees who will be popping in to enjoy live renderings of hits like “Roar,” “Firework” and “I Kissed a Girl.” The event is also being used to promote Perry’s latest album, titled 143. The network also teased that viewers can “expect an array of exciting surprises throughout the night, making this a truly unmissable event.”

Perry’s 143 was released last September, with the lead single “Woman’s World” — which didn’t get the best reception. The song debuted at #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 and disappeared from the chart the very next week after it was released. The performance of the single in the charts wasn’t helped by the fact that the song was produced by Dr. Luke, who became infamously known worldwide through a highly publicized lawsuit with Kesha.

All in all, Katy Perry will probably relate to the gazillion memes out there lamenting how utterly chaotic 2024 was for them.