Katy Perry says she ‘prayed the gay away’ as a youth

LOS ANGELES – Katy Perry says she “prayed the gay away” during her “unconscious adolescence.”

The 32-year-old singer opened up about her sexuality and praised the gay community while receiving an award from the Human Rights Campaign on Saturday in Los Angeles.

Perry was born into a fundamentalist Christian family, but says she was curious about sexuality and knew it wasn’t a black-and-white issue. She referenced one of her biggest hits in telling the group “I kissed a girl and I liked it.” She added that she also “did more than that.” She says she “prayed the gay away” at Christian camps, but later met people outside of her “bubble.”

She says without people in her life from the LGBTQ community she’d be “half of the person I am today.”