Katy Perry sparked health concerns among fans when her right eye drooped shut during a live performance and she appeared unable to open it for several seconds.
The incident took place during a recent performance of her Las Vegas "Play" residency. In video that has gone viral, Perry appears unable to keep her right eye open. After a few seconds, she presses her finger against her temple in an effort to keep it from drooping. She eventually manages to raise her eyelid and continues with her performance.
It was not long before fans were creating their own theories about why Perry could not keep her eye open. Speculation ranged from botox to a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine. Others expressed concerns that it was stress or another underlying health issue while others joked Perry may be a robot.
Perry has not addressed the ordeal but she previously spoke about her "wonk eye" while judging an episode of "American Idol" in 2021. She opened up about her condition when one teen contestant, Caleb Kennedy from South Carolina, revealed to his mentor Bobby Bones that he had a lazy eye and tried to conceal it by wearing large hats. Perry comforted the young contestant by speaking about her own insecurities about her eye.
"I have a wonk eye as well, and I used to be worried about it," she shared, according to Newsweek. "Then a bunch of my fans created a fandom over my wonk-eye. I even have a fandom that calls itself, 'Katy's wonk-eye.' "
She added: "It's my right eye. So just celebrate all that stuff. Don't worry about it."
In 2016 Perry pointed out her drooping eye when she tweeted in response to a photo of herself: "that wonk eye tho."
And, in a previous interview, Perry revealed that she went as far as to get a prescription for her "wonk eye" to "make go bigger whenever I take pictures because I have a slight wonk," according to Newsweek.