Josh Kloss, a male model featured in Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream music video has accused the pop star of pulling down his pants and exposing his penis to a group of people.
Kloss posted the allegations against the singer on Instagram, and he described feeling “pathetic and embarrassed” following the incident.
The incident happened at a birthday party for costume designer Johnny Wujek, after Perry had split with her ex-husband Russell Brand in 2012.
“And when I saw her, we hugged, and she was still my crush,” Kloss wrote. “But as I turned to introduce my friend, she pulled my Adidas sweats and underwear out as far as she could to show a couple of her guy friends and the surrounding crowd my penis.
“Can you imagine how pathetic and embarrassed I felt? I just say this now because our culture is set on proving men of power are perverse. But females with power are just as disgusting.”
Kloss also wrote that he made $650 (SGD900) for his role in the music video and he was going through a rough time and needed the job.
He was reportedly told not to say anything bad about Perry in interviews.
“I was lorded over by her reps about not discussing a single thing about anything regarding Katy publicly. And a couple interviews they edited and answered for me,” Kloss alleged.
The 34-year-old said he shared his story because it will be the anniversary of Teenage Dream which was released August 2010.
“So, happy anniversary to one of the most confusing, assaulting, and belittling jobs I’ve ever done,” he wrote.
On his Instagram Stories, Kloss expanded on the allegations, and said he is not Katy Perry’s “boy”.
“She made that very clear, I’m her prostitute,” he said, before comparing the alleged incident to a male pop star exposing a female.
It was a tough time for Kloss and he said on Instagram that he didn’t bring up the issue earlier because “those times would have benefited me financially” but that this time there is no financial compensation, only the possibility of benefiting “many others”.
The male model shared what he claims are screenshots of email correspondence regarding his answers to interview questions about Perry, which her team members reportedly changed.
The model says the screenshots show he was supposed to “minimise myself” and “stay PC to protect her ‘image’”.
“And you hear over and over a million times that males are the great evil on this planet,” he wrote, appearing to reference the #MeToo movement. “Meanwhile you know the truth POWER empowers what is corrupt in people, regardless of their gender.”
Kloss concluded the post explaining that he doesn’t want fame but now is the time for him to be honest about the experience and to “let it go”.
This is not the first time Perry is accused of sexual misconduct. In 2018, the singer faced backlash after viewers accused her of forcibly kissing an American Idol contestant while working as a judge on the show.