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'American Idol' judge Katy Perry's eyes 'glitching' had fans weirded out: "We want answers..."

In 2018, she astounded her fellow 'American Idol' judges with another weird talent—the ability to make her throat bulge out like a bullfrog.

Katy Perry was always full of surprises, but one viral eye glitch completely caught the singer's fans off guard. A leaked video went viral across all social media platforms and showed an uncontrollable eyelid struggling when the pop star had been on stage performing the shows. In the viral video, Perry, who is on stage, is shown with the left eye wide open while her right eyelid apparently droops shut. The 'California Gurls' singer, in the video, nonchalantly touches her temple as if trying to reset her eyelid, only for it again to droop.

The peculiar moment sparked immediate concern from her army of devoted fans—the 'KatyCats'—who are typically unfazed by Perry's theatrical antics. "Why is Not EVERYONE talking about the @katyperry eye glitch malfunction!? Freaking bizarre. We want answers Katy," an alarmed fan shared via X. The clip was quickly viewed by millions around the internet, where lots of people speculated what could actually be happening. Fans worried for health problems speculate, "That's most likely a muscle twitch resulting from overstimulation of the optic muscles around the eye socket."

Others went down more conspiratorial routes, suggesting everything from vaccine reactions to actual demonic possession. An especially creative subcategory of viewers posited that they weren't, in fact, looking at the real Perry in the first place—but a robot double. As one level-headed X user observed, "tiktok is having a field day with the katy perry eye glitch video...it's literally her playing around- 'omg she has been replaced', 'she's a robot' .. this generation might be one of the dumbest generations ever." 

However, the 40-year-old singer finally laid those wild theories to rest in a playful Instagram post: "Welcoming all my #flatearthers #spaceisfakers #birdsarentrealers #skyisntbluers to come and see my broken doll eye party trick IRL in Vegas next year," Perry wrote, revealing the apparently concerning moment was actually an intentional performance element. The eye trick, it would appear, is one Perry has honed over her years in the entertainment industry. In a video for Vogue, she explained the origin of what she calls the "doll eye" movement: "I've been sitting in a hair and makeup chair for 15 years," adding that she can "close one eye at a time and still maintain all function," as per Telegrafi.

That makes this reveal pretty on-brand for her Las Vegas residency, 'PLAY,' in which she plays a living doll in a sort of real-life fantasyland. But, shockingly, Perry has been public about eye weirdness long before this went viral. On an episode of 'American Idol,' Perry bonded with contestant Caleb Kennedy over their shared eye conditions. "I have a wonk eye as well, and I used to be worried about it," she told the young singer, adding even her fans formed a special fandom called "Katy's wonk eye" in honor of that peculiarity, as per Entertainment Now.

The singer's ability to turn potential insecurities into entertaining moments extends beyond her famous eye trick. In 2018, she astounded her fellow 'American Idol' judges with another weird talent—the ability to make her throat bulge out like a bullfrog, though she laughed, saying, "Nobody's gonna wanna make out with me. It's horrible!" Since the viral incident, Perry has continued to incorporate the eye trick into her performances, turning what could have been a controversial moment into a beloved part of her stage persona.