James Johnson
The pop star’s butterfly prop stalled and tilted mid-performance, leaving her dangling above the crowd—marking her second aerial mishap this tour
Katy Perry faced a terrifying moment mid-performance during her Lifetimes Tour stop in San Francisco on Friday, July 18, when a stage prop malfunction left her suspended in the air and visibly shaken.
The incident occurred at the Chase Center as the 40-year-old pop icon performed her hit single “Roar” while seated atop a giant flying butterfly prop. A viral clip posted on X (formerly Twitter) captures the moment the prop unexpectedly tilts and drops slightly, nearly causing Perry to slip from her seat mid-air.
Gasps erupted from the audience as the singer momentarily paused the performance, clutching the prop and anxiously glancing at the support wires. After stabilizing herself, Perry reassured fans with a wave and resumed singing the anthem’s empowering chorus: “And you’re going to hear me roar…”
In a follow-up Instagram Story, Perry shared a blurry, close-up selfie showing her startled expression with the caption: “Good Night San Fran.”
The malfunction is the second aerial mishap on her Lifetimes Tour. Just weeks earlier, during a June 29 show in Australia, Perry was inside a metallic sphere that unexpectedly tilted during its ascent. Quick reflexes and a tight grip on the cables helped her maintain balance until handlers safely brought her down.
This string of technical incidents echoes a similar mid-air scare faced by Beyoncé during her Cowboy Carter tour in Houston, pointing to the risks of elaborate stage productions in modern pop performances.
Despite the glitches, Perry has pushed forward with electrifying energy. Her Lifetimes Tour, which launched on April 23 in Mexico City to support her album 143, continues with a stop in Seattle on July 21. The tour is set to travel through Canada, Europe, and South America, concluding on December 7.
As Perry proves time and again, not even a broken butterfly can stop her from taking flight.
