Katy Perry. Photo / Supplied
There's a good chance you didn't know Josh Kloss' name before this week, though his chiselled jaw might be familiar.
The Californian model has 15 TV commercials to his name, plus a five-episode run on The OC in 2003.
However, three days ago, the now 38-year-old took to Instagram to share a story involving an A-lister and his genitals, setting off shockwaves in the entertainment world and bringing to the fore questions about gender double standards in a post #MeToo age.
In the post, Kloss alleged that Katy Perry had lifted his clothes, exposing his penis during a 2012 party leaving him feeling "pathetic and embarrassed".
Just days after those allegations were made public, Russian TV presenter Tina Kandelaki claimed the singer once approached her while allegedly intoxicated at an event and attempted to kiss her without consent.
"Once I was invited to a private party with Katy Perry, where she, being pretty tipsy, chose me as an object for the manifestation of her passion," Kandelaki, 43, told the outlet (via Page Six). "I managed to fight back, strength training was not in vain, and Katy instantly found a new victim for kisses, hugs and dirty dances."
However, this is not the first time the Grammy-winner and chart topper has faced accusations of behaving inappropriately.
'THAT'S NOT A GAME'
The 2017 I Heart Radio awards might have been a blip on the entertainment calendar if it wasn't for a moment that occurred on the red carpet.
Singer Shawn Mendes was chatting to two journalists, enjoying the usual inane patter these situations involve, when the then 18-year-old suddenly, said: "Someone was just touching my butt" before adding, "Oh, it was Katy Perry who was touching my butt. I should have turned around."
One of the reporters seemingly laughs off the moment saying, "Your butt's famous."
Later one of the interviewers jokes, "What if you grabbed her butt back?" to which Mendes responds "No, I cannot do that. That's not good. That's not a game."
The interviewers plough on but Mendes seems slightly flustered, his arms wrapped protectively around himself.
The ensuing controversy pointed out the hypocrisy of anyone laughing off the alleged grope and that if a 32-year-old star had done the same thing to an 18-year-old female celebrity there would have been a huge outcry.
Later that year, Mendes took back his claim in an interview, saying of the incident: "I don't think it's actually true. That's what I was told. But actually then I saw her later that night and she told me it wasn't true. So I'm sorry for all of those rumours, Katy. Extremely disappointing."
'I WOULD HAVE SAID NO'
It has been reported that it cost producers a whopping $37 million to get Perry to sign on the dotted line to join the judging panel for the 2018 season of American Idol. However, one interaction between Perry and a wannabe contestant during the show's season opener created headlines for the wrong reasons.
Benjamin Glaze, then aged 19, auditioned for the judging panel in Oklahoma in October, 2017. The video of what followed has been viewed nearly 4.4 million times.
In the opening chat to the camera, Glaze admits he writes love songs but is too shy to sing them to his crushes, before fronting the judges. They then quiz him about his romantic history to which he admits, "I have never been in a relationship and I can't kiss a girl without being in a relationship."
At this point, Perry stands up and says: "Come here. Come here right now."
"No way, hold on," Glaze says taking a slight step back, though he still had a smile on his face.
Perry remains insistent and Glaze approaches the judges' table before tentatively kissing her cheek. "It didn't even make the smush sound," Perry complains. As Glaze went back to kiss her cheek a second time, Perry spun her face and planted a kiss on his lips.
Glaze nearly falls over and then gasps, "You didn't!" Meanwhile, Perry and judges Lionel Richie and American country music star Luke Bryan cheer and high-five her.
"Well that's a first," Glaze says, running his hand through his hair. When he is asked to sing, he pauses and asks for water, before Lionel Richie comes over and puts his arm around him. When Glaze finally does sing and play the guitar, the performance isn't enough for him to make the cut.
When the episode aired in 2018, American Idol framed the moment as a sweet, playful interchange, with the associated YouTube video called "Boy Gets His First KISS Ever From Katy Perry."
However, in an interview after the episode aired, Glaze told The New York Times: "I was a tad bit uncomfortable. I wanted to save (my first kiss) for my first relationship. I wanted it to be special."
"Would I have done it if she said, 'Would you kiss me?' No, I would have said no," he said.
"I know a lot of guys would be like, 'Heck yeah!' But for me, I was raised in a conservative family and I was uncomfortable immediately. I wanted my first kiss to be special."
Later, Glaze took to Instagram to clarify his thoughts about the kiss saying, "I am not complaining about the kiss, I am very honoured and thankful to have been apart of American Idol …. I do not think I was sexually harassed by Katy Perry."
DREAM BECOMES A NIGHTMARE
The most recent accusation levelled at 34-year-old Perry involves the shoot for the video clip for her 2010 hit, Teenage Dream. Cast alongside Perry was model Josh Kloss as her boyfriend.
Kloss took to his Instagram account his week to mark the ninth anniversary of the song, which hit US airwaves in July 2010, saying that Perry: "Was cool and kind. When other people were around she was cold as ice, even called the act of kissing me 'gross' to the entire set while filming."
He also claims that she later invited him to a Santa Barbara strip club but turned her down.
He alleges that two years later he met her again at the birthday party for director and designer Johnny Wujek, who is also the co-creative director of the Katy Perry Collection, at a Los Angeles roller skating rink.
"When I saw her, we hugged and she was still my crush," Kloss wrote. "But as I turned to introduce my friend, she pulled my Adidas sweats and underwear out as far as she could to show a couple of her guy friends and the crowd around us, my penis. Can you imagine how pathetic and embarrassed I felt?"
He added: "I made around $650 in total off of Teenage Dream. I was lorded over by her reps, about not discussing a single thing about anything regarding Katy publicly … So, happy anniversary to one of the most confusing, assaulting, and belittling jobs I've ever done."
While Perry has yet to comment, Wujek countered Kloss' claims, posting, "This is such bullsh*t. Katy would never do something like that."
Wujek also alleged that Kloss had an "ongoing obsession" with Perry.
WHY THIS MATTERS
In years and decades past, these moments would have been discounted or laughed off as nothing more than horseplay or flirtation.
But the conversation about sexual behaviour has dramatically shifted in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the subsequent tsunami of resignations and firings of powerful men accused of harassing women.
(The New York Times reports that 201 other powerful CEOs, titans of the business world and industry leaders were brought down in the months after the cultural watershed moment.)
In 2019, the question of power dynamics, especially when it involves a significant imbalance of wealth or professional stature remains as pressing and necessary as ever.
There still exists a lingering double standard when it comes to women accused of harassment, that the men involved must have been happy to receive their advances and it is often framed that the men are "getting lucky".
But there is nothing "lucky" ever about alleged harassment.
Daniela Elser is a royal expert and freelance writer with 15 years' experience who has written for some of Australia's best print and digital media brands.
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