She’s a pop star, he’s a former PM – why Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau just might work

It is a pairing that few could have predicted: a former Canadian prime minister and an American pop star who has toured the world and reached the edge of space.

Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry have made it official. The couple were spotted holding hands in Paris last weekend as they left the Crazy Horse cabaret, where they had been celebrating Perry’s 41st birthday.

While they may seem an unlikely duo, Trudeau and Perry – who have both been in the spotlight for the better part of the last decade – have more in common than some might think. And their budding romance is not entirely unprecedented in Canadian political history.

The pairing also allows them to change the conversation after a year in which both have faced hits to their reputations.

The relationship is a “rebranding for both of them in a very interesting and unexpected way”, says Jose Rodriguez, a professor of communication studies at California State University Long Beach.

Partnering with a statesman creates a credible bridge for Perry into civic and philanthropic endeavours, he adds. It expands her audience and access to a politically engaged public, and global organisations outside the music industry.

For Trudeau, 53, the California Girls singer helps his new persona because she is in “a softer arena”, Mr Rodriguez says, rather than the tough world of politics.

At the core of it is simple human connection, too, observers note. Both are newly single – Trudeau and his wife separated in 2023 – and this is the first post-split high-profile romance for both.

The romance rumours between them began swirling in late July, when the two were spotted having dinner together at Le Violon, a swanky restaurant in the heart of Montreal.

Two days later, Trudeau was spotted attending Perry’s show in the city, singing along to her hits Firework and Teenage Dream.

Then, in mid-October, images of them kissing aboard Perry’s yacht off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, went viral.

Neither Trudeau nor Perry have publicly spoken about their romance. Their representatives did not respond to the BBC’s requests for comments. But before the weekend photos landed, the singer appeared to hint at the relationship during a London tour stop last month.

A fan in the audience proposed to her shortly after photos of her and Trudeau canoodling surfaced.

“You know, you really should have asked me about 48 hours ago,” Perry responded.

Even though many may not have seen it coming, observers say their getting together helps serve their individual public images.

After becoming a global progressive icon when he was catapulted into Canada’s highest office in 2015, Trudeau was forced to resign earlier this year after his popularity plummeted.

Despite winning a sweeping majority a decade ago – promising “sunny ways” domestically while being admired for his youthful charm abroad – it did not take long for scandals to tarnish his image.

A series of luxury vacations drew criticism for being tone-deaf – including one trip to the private island of the Aga Khan in the Bahamas, which was found to have violated federal conflict-of-interest laws. Trudeau then faced another controversy in 2019 after old photos of him in blackface surfaced, forcing him to issue a public apology.

By the end of his tenure, Canadians had grown frustrated with his leadership and were ready to move on.

Perry has similarly faced a crop of undesirable headlines after riding high for years.

The singer was enjoying the height of pop stardom in the 2010s, churning out consistent hits, and her bold, colourful style helped define pop culture. In 2018, Billboard magazine named her one of the greatest popstars of the 21st Century.

But scandal found her, too. Her newest album, 143, was panned by critics as her worst artistic effort to date. The Guardian called it “some way short of a total catastrophe”, while the Telegraph called it “disastrous”.

And earlier this year, she was mocked for taking part in an all-woman Blue Origin space flight with billionaire Jeff Bezos’ wife Lauren Sanchez and CBS anchor Gayle King. Perry acknowledged the criticism in April, saying “I’m not perfect” but that “the internet is very much a dumping ground for the unhinged and unhealed”.

Then came the split between her and Bloom, who she was with after her marriage to comedian Russell Brand fell apart in 2011.

“When you’re in the middle of an unfortunate storyline, the best thing you can do is move onto a different storyline,” notes Los Angeles Times pop music critic Mikael Wood.

The relationship with Trudeau “changes the subject from a flop album and from a tour that seemed a little thirsty and misguided, and makes us talk about something else”.

The measured roll-out of the relationship also seemed to ease observers into the romance.

Prof Rodriguez notes that the optics of them appearing together in Paris was “a high signal, low speech confirmation” of their affection that allowed the visuals to do the work.

“Each has weathered scrutiny, so a carefully staged relationship narrative can re-index attention around vitality, optimism and cross-domain relevance.”

The pair do have things in common.

Perry and Trudeau are ideologically aligned, LA-based music writer Gerrick Kennedy observes, being “anti-establishment” disruptors in their respective fields.

Perry herself is no stranger to activism and politics, having performed at multiple campaign events in 2016 for Democratic US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and publicly endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

She is a vocal advocate for LGBTQ rights and has supported various feminist charities and causes – issues that Trudeau had also publicly backed (he famously made gender-parity in cabinet central to his policy).

They also each appear to be dedicated parents to their young children. Perry’s four-year-old daughter, Daisy, features frequently on her Instagram. Trudeau’s Instagram shows he spent the summer taking each of his three children on separate holidays.

By dating Perry, Trudeau is charting a different path post-politics than his predecessors, who often assume high-level consulting gigs or join law firms.

It is, however, on-brand for a prime minister who was always unusual, says Michael Mulvey, a marketing professor at the University of Ottawa.

As the son of another former prime minister, Pierre Eliott Trudeau, he grew up in the spotlight. One of the earliest photos of him is of an infant Justin being held by former US First Lady Pat Nixon.

After the separation from his wife, the youngest Trudeau could not escape the inevitable comparisons to his father, who also separated from his first wife and the mother of his children, Margaret, while in office.

The senior Trudeau had his own famous flings, namely with American singer Barbra Streisand and Canadian actress Kim Cattrall, of Sex and the City fame.

“There’s no question that we see history repeating itself,” says Jonathan Malloy, a professor of political science at Carleton University in Ottawa.

But Prof Mulvey notes that there are others who connect with his human experience of being a newly single dad.

Not long after his exit from politics, Trudeau posted a photo of himself buying kitchenware, which commentators took as him signalling the start of his “divorced dad era”.

“There are probably some people that hope he gets it together, has a cooling off period from the post-divorce trauma and gets on with his life,” Prof Mulvey says.