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Pop singer Katy Perry recently addressed viral rumors claiming she is the murdered child pageant star JonBenét Ramsey. Responding to an Instagram post by user @petercshields featuring an AI-generated video morphing Ramsey's face into Perry's on Saturday, March 1, 2025, the songstress wrote:
"Wait am I(?)"
For the unversed, in December 1996, Ramsey was found murdered in the basement of her home in Boulder, Colorado, at the age of 6. According to her autopsy report, she died of "asphyxia by strangulation," and it was ruled a homicide.
According to E! News, to date, no one has been charged in her murder, and it has sparked several speculations about the killer. This included her parents, her brother, and even a possible intruder.
Sometime in 2014, a YouTube video (since deleted) went viral, claiming JonBenét Ramsey's murder was a hoax and she was actually Katy Perry. Since then, the conspiracy theory has frequently resurfaced. With the advent of AI-generated content, several videos of Ramsey transforming into Perry have been circulating online.
The YouTube video Katy Perry's appearance was evidence that she was JonBenét Ramsey
Hailing from Colorado, JonBenét Ramsey was a child pageant star with several titles under her name. These include Little Miss Colorado, Little Miss Charlevoix, Colorado State All-Star Kids Cover Girl, and America’s Royale Miss, among others. According to CNN, just a week before her death, her name was displayed at a Boulder Christmas parade.
On December 25, 1996, JonBenét and her family returned from a Christmas dinner. The next day, her lifeless body was found in the home's basement with a cord around her neck. Further, there was evidence that the 6-year-old had been s*xually assaulted.
According to a February 2016 video by Entertainment Tonight, a YouTuber named Dave Johnson shared a bizarre theory on the platform. He claimed JonBenét Ramsey did not die in 1996 but rather her parents, Patsy and John, faked her death so that she could become famous.
In his video (since deleted), Johnson alleged that Katy Perry was actually Ramsey as an adult, providing Perry's appearance as evidence. He seemingly analyzed the Firework hitmaker's eyebrows, jaw, and the bridge of her nose, which he claimed matched that of the 6-year-old.
It is worth noting that Dave Johnson's conspiracy theory has several holes. This includes the ages of the two. JonBenét was born on August 6, 1990, while Katy Perry was born on October 25, 1984. Further, Ramsey's father, John, has been trying to solve the case even today.
In a statement made to CNN, John criticized the police, remarking:
"Our big frustration almost from Day 1 is that we knew the police did not have the capacity or the capability or the experience to deal with this case."
Last year, Netflix released a three-part docu-series focusing on the 6-year-old's murder, titled Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey. Ahead of its release (November 2024), a spokesperson for the Boulder PD told Us Weekly that they were "aggressively investigating the case and pursuing all avenues."
The director for the show, Joe Berlinger, echoed John's sentiments, telling CNN he was shocked to see "just how trampled the crime scene was." He hoped that despite the botched investigation, newer technologies could help solve the crime.
Earlier this year, John told NBC News that he had met with Boulder’s new police chief and was hoping authorities were closer to finding his daughter's murderer.
"They were just open to sincerely discuss the case. I’m just very impressed with the caliber of the leadership now and that gave me great hope," he told the outlet.
It is worth noting that Ramsey's mother, Patsy, former Miss West Virginia, passed away of cancer in 2006.
While Katy Perry played along with the conspiracy theory, she has previously mentioned JonBenét Ramsey. According to She Knows, in a June 2011 interview with Vanity Fair, Perry discussed writing her own songs from a young age, adding:
"Not that I was one of those stage kids. There was no JonBenét Ramsey inside of me waiting to burst out."
Per She Knows, the remark, too, has fueled the speculations further.
Katy Perry dropped her seventh studio album, 143, last September. The project peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. It is available to stream online.
