Katy Perry got a bit emotional on Thursday night (Sept. 30) during Variety‘s “Power of Women” event in Beverly Hills. During the ceremony, she heaped praise on her fiancé, actor Orlando Bloom, for hopping on her chaotic career train while offering a powerful pledge to the couple’s baby daughter, 13-month-old Daisy Dove Bloom.
Perry gave Bloom props for being “an incredible father [and] an example to our greatest gift ever, our daughter Daisy — a future powerful woman.” As for Daisy, who was born last August, Perry pledged to do her best to be an example of said powerful woman and to “never put limits on your dreams, to lead with love, never through fear, and to always be your lighthouse in any darkness. … Lest we forget, behind every great woman, there is a great man way to my beloved partner. And I’m sure whether I like it or not, Orlando, a man that is a friend and an ally to women all around the world. Thank you for handling the insanity of my life.”
Perry, 36, also shouted out her fellow honorees — Lorde, Rita Moreno, Inauguration Day poet Amanda Gorman and Warner Bros. Television Studios Chairperson/CEO Channing Dungey — telling host Gayle King that it was “a privilege to be included with such an incredible group.” The singer was being honored for her work with the Firework Foundation, which she co-founded with her older sister, Angela Hudson, in 2018 to help support children from underserved communities through the arts.
“Thank you so much for keeping me focused on the greater good, holding my feet to the fire, keeping me accountable [and] putting all the logistics in place so that we can make an impact in our lives and other lives,” Perry said. “I love you and I look up to you.”
There were also heartfelt thank yous to Ngoc Hoang-DelVecchio of her management team — “She is the logistics queen, a woman who has helped guide me, sacrificed for me and championed my vision for over 12 years. Your dedication is profound and worthy” — as well as nods to Universal Music Group attendees Michelle Jubelirer (president and COO, Capitol Music Group), Ambrosia Healy (head of media strategy and relations) and Kristen Kanopka (senior director, publicity).
“Thank you, ladies, so much for giving me the platform to allow me to do what I love every day,” she said of her team. “And we know it takes a village and I’m privileged to have mine made up of so many intelligent, dynamic women.”
The night was capped with a stirring acoustic performance of “What Makes a Woman” and Perry’s speech below.
