Katy Perry has responded to an internet conspiracy theory claiming the pop star is actually JonBenét Ramsey.
Perry, 40, responded to an AI-generated video shared via Instagram which showed the slain 6-year-old beauty queen morphing into the “Firework” singer. Perry commented on the post on March 1, writing, “wait am i.”
The video is an apparent reference to a conspiracy theory that has circulated since 2014, which alleged JonBenét’s 1996 murder was a hoax and that Perry is the young beauty queen as an adult.
The now-deleted YouTube video, per Entertainment Tonight, suggested that Perry’s real parents were actually Patsy and John, who had faked their daughter’s death so she could become famous. The video also pointed to Perry’s appearance as evidence proving the conspiracy is true, analyzing the shape of her eyebrows, jaw and the bridge of her nose which, to conspiracy theorists, allegedly proves without a doubt that they are the same person.
In 1996, JonBenét was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her parents Patsy and John Ramsey’s Boulder, Colorado home, hours after she had been reported missing. Her cause of death was asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma, and her death was ruled a homicide. JonBenét’s murder, which has remained unsolved for decades, has been the subject of countless documentaries and conspiracy theories.
However, the 2014 theory has some obvious holes, notably the age differences between Perry and JonBenét. While Perry celebrated her 40th birthday in October 2024, JonBenét would have been 35 this year had she lived.
Investigations into JonBenét’s murder are still ongoing. Her father John, 81, spoke to NBC News earlier this year to share his hope that police are inching closer to solving his daughter’s murder after meeting with Boulder’s new police chief. (Patsy died of cancer in 2006 at age 49.)
“They were just open to sincerely discuss the case,” he told the outlet. “I’m just very impressed with the caliber of the leadership now and that gave me great hope.”
Boulder police have looked into several suspects and theories surrounding the 6-year-old’s death, including her parents. In 1999, a grand jury voted to indict the couple, but the indictment was never signed by the Boulder district attorney due to a lack of evidence. Patsy and John were exonerated in 2008.
There was renewed interest in the case after the release of Netflix’s three-part docuseries Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey in 2024. Before the release of the special, a spokesperson for the Boulder PD told Us Weekly in a November 2024 statement that they were “aggressively investigating the case and pursuing all avenues.”
A source connected to the authorities, meanwhile, told Us that there have been “new sets of eyes” on the case in an attempt to find “anything that could have been overlooked.”
“No one is off the table. This case is still wide open,” the insider shared. “We are after the truth, whatever that is. We are going to leave no stone unturned. The kindest thing we can do for the Ramseys is to solve this.”
