While Katy Perry is no stranger to stage mishaps, she got caught in a uniquely troublesome situation last week during a concert in Floriana, Malta.
On July 22, the 41-year-old performed at the Isle of MTV Malta festival as part of her ongoing summer tour in Europe.
Midway through the event, the Roar singer found herself at the mercy of her audience as she got stuck inside a giant plastic bottle.
As fan-captured videos of the incident went viral on social media, garnering thousands of views, netizens banded together to make fun of the pop artist.
“This woman is a literal walking Onion article at all times,” one said, referring to the satirical media outlet.
The audience initially refused to return Katy Perry to the stage
Image credits: jnflesch
Katy Perry made her Isle of MTV Malta debut on Wednesday, July 22, where her headlining show at Il-Fosos Square (also known as Floriana Granaries) reportedly drew a crowd of over 40,000 people.
At one point during the concert, Perry entered a humongous inflatable plastic water bottle-shaped prop while performing I Kissed a Girl.
The stunt was meant for an interaction session where the singer would use it to surf over the crowd, and the audience would get the prop to a straw installation on the other end of the stage.
🤣 FANS ROLLED KATY PERRY AROUND – FAR TOO LONG
Apparently Katy Perry did not plan to surf the crown in the bottle for so long, but the fans kept rolling her in the wrong direction… so she had trouble getting back on stage.
Trapped in a bottle on top of her fans… pic.twitter.com/U9HrXsiNpV
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) July 29, 2026
This is where things went wrong.
Instead of pushing her toward the straw as planned, the fans accidentally moved her in the opposite direction, toward the back of the venue.
A panicked Perry could be heard yelling, “Get me to that straw!” to the thousands of roaring fans under her prop.
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“Go back to the stage! Oh my god!” she exclaimed, unable to control the crowd’s movement.
However, the fans eventually course-corrected, and she was safely returned to the stage without incident.
She resumed her performance and thanked the audience after finishing.
Katy Perry got mocked by netizens for her concert stunt mishap
Image credits: jnflesch
Katy Perry addressed the mishap in a video for Isle of MTV Malta’s Instagram page.
She called it the “favorite moment” of the show, where she got to get “up close and personal” with the audience.
“I basically get in this giant inflatable water bottle, and I roll it into the crowd,” she said.
Image credits: Thomas Niedermueller/Getty Images
“And tonight I went kind of far, and I was a little bit worried I was not gonna come back.”
Despite Perry’s sentiment, internet users were ruthless in their trolling of Katy Perry as the video spread on social media.
“This is like a The Simpsons bit where she’d end up rolling free onto a road or into the sea and just keep going,” one user said.
Image credits: Jared C. Tilton – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Another wrote, “Somebody she listens to actually told her this would be a good idea!”
A third said, “Why does she get involved in these things, omg.” A fourth commented, “Well deserved. The stupidest thing ever.”
“This is just the latest in the crazy live shows of Katy Perry, lol,” said one more.
Katy Perry has suffered similar stage mishaps in the past
Image credits: abc7newsbayarea
The plastic bottle faux pas wasn’t the first time Katy Perry had a near-blunder during a concert.
In June 2025, Perry nearly fell from mid-air while performing inside a metal sphere during her Lifetimes Tour concert in Adelaide, Australia.
After the handlers let go of the sphere, the music began to play, and the metal cage began to rise.
Halfway up, it unexpectedly tilted to one side, causing Perry to lose her footing.
@abc7newsbayarea Katy Perry nearly fell into the crowd after a midair mishap at her Chase Center concert in San Francisco on Friday. Midway through the song, the mechanism unexpectedly jolted, tilting and dipping in midair, causing Perry to slip in her seat and abruptly stop singing. #katyperry #katyperryfan #concert #sanfrancisco #abc7news ♬ original sound – ABC7 News
She quickly recovered by holding on to the cables as the sphere, still tilted, began swinging.
Shortly afterward, it was safely lowered by the handling crew without anyone getting injured.
A month later, the Dark Horse singer was performing at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, when a giant butterfly prop she was riding malfunctioned mid-air.
Perry remained suspended over the crowd as the mechanism jerked and stopped suddenly.
She immediately stopped singing, focused on regaining her balance, then fixed the contraption herself before continuing.
Katy Perry has previously been dragged online for her “tone-deaf” and “embarrassing” acts
Image credits: Blue Origin
In recent memory, Katy Perry has faced several waves of online backlash, with critics accusing her of appearing out of touch with the everyday struggles of her fans.
Her participation in the all-female Blue Origin sub-orbital spaceflight with Lauren Sánchez Bezos and four others drew significant negative reactions. While Perry described the trip as inspiring and empowering, many saw it as an “embarrassing” and “extravagant” publicity stunt amid public anxiety over socio-economic conditions.
“You say that you care about Mother Earth, and it’s about Mother Earth, and you’re going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that’s single-handedly destroying the planet,” said model and actress Emily Ratajkowski.
“Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space. For what?”
Image credits: Blue Origin
Actress Olivia Munn called it “gluttonous” and said, “It’s so much money to go to space, and there are a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs.”
Olivia Wilde and Amy Schumer also criticized the 11-minute space trip.
An insider later told the Daily Mail that Perry didn’t regret the “life-changing” space trip, but felt bad about “making a public spectacle out of it.”
The singer was also slammed for her response to a fan who said she was very close to selling her Katy Perry concert tickets as she couldn’t afford her livelihood.
“But I am looking forward to seeing you!” Perry replied, which a majority of netizens found “tone-deaf.”
“The stupidest thing ever.” The internet trolled Katy Perry for her stage mishap
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