At the O Son do Camiño festival in Santiago de Compostela, Katy Perry capitalized on a certain type of stage act that only works if the audience is already aware of the rumors. In the middle of “Never Really Over,” a massive phone prop illuminated behind her with a series of incoming calls from former lovers. Diplo was swatted away by her. She didn’t answer a call from “JM.” She passed directly by one from “OB.” She answered the call from “JPJT” as if she had been waiting for it the entire time. It was marked with a heart and a Canadian flag.
Really, it’s only a few seconds of stagecraft and a tiny joke. However, it succeeded because the joke was immediately understood by the audience. Perry and former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have been dating since the summer of 2025, and this seemed to be the most public and lighthearted confirmation of their relationship to date.
The bit did not appear out of nowhere. Less than two weeks prior, Trudeau had accompanied Perry on the red carpet at the Tribeca Festival in New York, where her concert film, Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour – Live from Paris, debuted. People were already talking about that appearance, in part because it was their first significant public appearance together and in part because Perry was honest about their relationship. She described it as a moment that followed meeting the love of her life and claimed to be deeply in love. She also likened herself to a kite that occasionally soars too high and requires an anchor.
It was clipped and shared in a matter of minutes, as is typical with that type of language. The two of them appear to be purposefully leaning into the attention rather than avoiding it, which is interesting to watch as this develops over several weeks. A more subdued pair could have maintained their relationship off-screen for a bit longer. Rather, there was the red carpet, a picnic in Santa Barbara where they were pictured kissing on a gingham blanket, and now a wink incorporated right into a stadium show.
Because it’s so easy to overlook Perry’s film beneath the relationship coverage, it’s worth mentioning here. She has said that it is different from her 2012 documentary Part of Me in that it focuses more on simulating the experience of being inside the tour and less on her personal life. She has presented the project as a sort of thank-you to the fans who have supported her throughout her eighteen years in the spotlight.
However, the Trudeau content is moving the fastest on the internet, which likely reflects how people are currently consuming celebrity news. It’s neither subtle nor insignificant for a former head of state to appear in a pop star’s stagecraft. They both seem to understand exactly how this reads, and neither of them seems to be too troubled by it.
From a festival segment and a few red carpet pictures, it is impossible to determine whether the relationship will last. Although many have, public romances built this way don’t always endure. As of right now, the internet knows who Katy Perry is answering the phone for, and it’s not any of the previously mentioned names.
