Don't worry--you can still dress up as Katy Perry for Purim without guilt. (From MoviesPad.com)
Well, cross kabbalat Shabbat services off the list of things Katy Perry probably did last Friday night. The singer’s father, Keith Hudson–an Ohio preacher–recently gave a sermon at Church on the Rise in which he told congregants, “You know how to make the Jew jealous? Have some money, honey…You go to L.A. and they own all the Rolex and diamond places. Walk down a part of L.A. where we live and it is so rich it smells. You ever smell rich? They are all Jews, hallelujah. Amen.” Perry, famous for frothy songs like “I Kissed a Girl” and “Teenage Dream,” hasn’t yet said anything about her father’s remarks, but Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League has: “Keith Hudson’s unabashedly anti-Semitic remarks to hundreds of worshippers in Ohio about Jews and money are a reminder that the age-old stereotypes are alive and well and continue to bubble up to the surface in many segments of society…Katy Perry is blameless for her parents’ behavior, and it is unfortunate that her good name is now attached to her father’s words.” Phew–giving up repeated plays of “California Gurls” would have been a real loss!