Katy Perry faced backlash after she posted a picture of Indian goddess Kali on her Instagram page. The 32-year-old Roar hitmaker shared the image of the Hindu deity to express her "current mood."
In Hindu mythology, goddess Kali is believed to liberate souls from the cycle of birth and rebirth. In the image posted by Perry, the goddess is seen dancing on Hindu god Shiva, who is beneath her.
Instagram user, shambhavim03 wrote: "This is offensive these gods and goddesses might not be of any value to you but we worship them we believe in them, you're hurting other's religious sentiments you just can't express your mood by posting pictures of gods and goddesses who are worshipped by atleast 4% population of the world."
Another user, abhishek_pawar003 stated: "This is not good to express one's mood by posting picture of God's and Goddess of someone other religions.
User muntaha__bhat explained: "You shouldn't disregard someone's religion.I myslef am a muslim but that doesn't mean it gives us the right to thrash some else's religion."
However, Perry's fan sanjanaphutane wrote: "Katy Perry is a wise women. She wouldn't want to hurt our religious sentiments. The problem with us is that people following another religion posting our God's or Godess's picture makes us furious. Guys Hinduism has taught us to take everything positively. So instead to taking this as an insult, let's be positive. At last we r all humans right."
Perry, who was born in a Christian home under Pentecostal parents had previously admitted she does not follow any specific religion. She told Marie Claire magazine: "I don't believe in a heaven or a hell or an old man sitting on a throne. I believe in a higher power bigger than me because that keeps me accountable."
"Accountability is rare to find, especially with people like myself, because nobody wants to tell you something you don't want to hear. I actually don't trust people who start to turn on me because they get scared of telling me the truth. I'm not Buddhist, I'm not Hindu, I'm not Christian, but I still feel like I have a deep connection with God. I pray all the time—for self-control, for humility. There's a lot of gratitude in it. Just saying 'thank you' sometimes is better than asking for things," she added.