Katy Perry to receive top honor at this year’s VMAs as fans rage over ‘payola’

Katy Perry has finally received some good news about her career, with the announcement she is set to receive the top honor at this year’s VMA Awards — but some fans are thinking her team might have “rigged” it for her by shelling out major cash.
Perry has faced considerable backlash ahead of the rollout of her sixth studio album, 143, after news emerged she was working with Dr. Luke again, after he was accused of rape and sexual assault by Ke$ha. This led to her first two singles, Woman’s World and Lifetimes both flopping-and fans have been begging her to “scrap the album.” 
Adding to the problems, her Lifetimes music video is under investigation over environmental concerns–and fans are starting to place the blame for all the trouble on her team.
However, she has now received the news that she is being given the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at this year’s VMAs, an honor that in recent years was bestowed upon Shakira, Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliott, Jennifer Lopez and P!nk.
But while she and her team might be in a celebratory mood, some are calling foul on the honor.
“Payola is insane,” one person fumed on X.
“Paid mole,” another said.
“How much did she pay for this?” another asked.
Others joked that it was something she definitely needed after all of the backlash of the last year.
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“Okay maybe this can save her era,” one person wrote.
“Hopefully this works for her,” another said.
Others also acknowledged that she may have been making some missteps latesly, but the honor was deserved when the whole body of her work was considered.
“Even though a lot of us don’t like her working with Dr. Luke, she does deserve this for Teenage Dream and PRISM eras alone,” one said.
The VMAs air Wednesday, Sept. 11 on MTV.