Katy Perry worries fans, sparks theories after her eyelid appears paralysed during concert

Katy Perry has fans doing a double-take after her eyelid appeared to get stuck during a recent concert in Las Vegas.

The 38-year-old singer was filmed during a performance at her Las Vegas residency and seemingly suffered an eye “glitch” while on stage. The video has since received more than 19m views since it was posted to TikTok on Sunday.

In the viral clip, Perry stared into the audience as she struggled to lift her right eyelid. The “Roar” singer – who was wearing a can-inspired silver dress – used her hand to try and lift her eyelid back into its place. Her eye closed shut again, and Perry put a hand to her temple to try and open it once more. When her eyelid finally seemed back to normal, Perry continued on with the show.

The video sparked much speculation from fans when a flurry of comments joked that Perry had suffered a “glitch” or mechanical failure. However, others believed the moment indicated a much more serious health concern.

“She’s glitching,” one person commented on TikTok.

“She lost the WiFi connection,” said someone else.

A third user joked: “That baby doll you had as a kid with the eye that kept closing.”

Another fan provided a much more reasonable explanation when they claimed it was Perry’s “eyelash glue getting stuck to her bottom lid”.

Still, some people couldn’t help but notice the symptom similarities between Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, who experienced “full paralysis” on the right side of his face due to Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a rare neurological disorder, characterised by a rash that occurs around the ear, face, or mouth and paralysis of the facial nerve. The syndrome is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox and shingles.

As one TikTok user noted: “Conspiracy theorists are gonna have a field day with this one.”

While Katy Perry has yet to publicly comment on the viral video, the “Firework” singer has previously spoken about a condition she suffers from dubbed “wonk-eye”. During the 2021 season of American Idol, Perry comforted 16-year-old contestant Caleb Kennedy when he was feeling insecure over his lazy eye, according to Newsweek.

“I have a wonk eye as well, and I used to be worried about it,” she said. “Then a bunch of my fans created a fandom over my wonk-eye. I even have a fandom that calls itself, ‘Katy’s wonk-eye.’”

While it’s unclear whether it’s the same condition that caused her eyelid to close on stage, Perry previously revealed in 2011 that she had a prescription for her eye condition. In 2016, Perry also replied to a picture of her face on Twitter with the caption: “That wonk eye tho”.

The Independent has contacted Katy Perry for comment.