Katy Perry reveals she 'wasn't allowed to interact with gay people

She famously sings about a lesbian experience in her 2008 hit I Kissed A Girl.

But Katy Perry has revealed that she was not 'allowed to interact with gay people' during her strict upbringing by her evangelical pastor parents.

The pop star, 32, also spoke about how there was 'some generational racism' when she was growing up.

Speaking in an interview with Vogue, the Firework hitmaker explained how she had to re-educate herself later on in life following her religious upbringing.

'The schools were really makeshift. Education was not the first priority,' she said. 'My education started in my 20s, and there is so much to learn still.'
Katy also added that Donald Trump being elected President brought up 'trauma' from when she was younger.

She told the magazine: 'Misogyny and sexism were in my childhood: I have an issue with suppressive males and not being seen as equal.'

The insight into her strict upbringing by her pastor parents Keith and Mary Hudson comes as Katy revealed that her hit single I Kissed A Girl was inspired by her own sexual experiences as a young woman.

Speaking about the song's lyrics at the Human Rights Campaign Los Angeles Gala last month, she said: 'Truth be told, I did more than that!

'But how was I going to reconcile that with the gospel-singing girl raised in youth groups that were pro conversion camps?


'What I did know was that I was curious, and even then I knew that sexuality was not as black and white as this dress.'

The songstress described how she 'prayed the gay away at Jesus camps', but added that things changed after she burst onto the music scene.

'I found my gift and my gift introduced me to people outside my bubble and my bubble started to burst,' she explained.

'These people were nothing like I had been taught to fear. They were the most free, strong, kind and inclusive people I have ever met.'

No longer following her parents' path, Katy added: 'Priceless lessons happen large. The path of discovery has made me, has tested me, and forever changed me.

'You don’t get to choose your family, but you can choose your tribe,' she said.

'I stand here as real evidence for all that no matter where you came from it is about where you are going, that real change, real evolution, and that real perception shift can happen, if we open our minds and soften our hearts.'

'No longer can I sit in silence. I have to stand up for what I feel is true and that is equality and justice for all, period.'