For years, true crime enthusiasts have speculated many theories surrounding the death of five-year-old pageant star JonBenét Ramsey in 1996. Strangely enough, one of those theories is a conspiracy that Jon Benét is still alive, and grew up to be pop sensation Katy Perry. Now, for the first time since the theory gained traction in 2014, the “Teenage Dream” singer has commented on the viral hypothesis.
Earlier this month, the 40-year-old singer came across an AI-generated video with the caption “WAKE UP PPL” which rehashed the bonkers theory.
Instead of just scrolling past, Katy took to the comments.
“Wait am I” she wrote, clearly having a bit of a giggle over the speculation.
Although Katy most likely finds the whole thing ridiculous, the conspiracy theory has been floating around since 2014 and has a band of dedicated believers who still think it has legs, all these years later.
So, is there any compelling evidence for this theory or is it just another deranged post that grabbed the zeitgeist’s attention? Let’s investigate.
Who was JonBenét Ramsey?
JonBenét Ramsey was a six-year-old pageant star who was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder, Colorado on December 25, 1996.
She had been reported missing by her family just seven hours prior after her mother found a handwritten ransom note. Her death was determined to be a homicide after the autopsy report revealed that her cause of death was asphyxia by strangulation, noting that she also had a fractured skull.
As police began their investigation into the little girl’s death, the case garnered worldwide attention. This was partly due to the many inconsistencies in the case, JonBenét’s involvement in the child beauty pageant scene and the ongoing allegations that JonBenét’s family — father John Bennett, mother Patsy and her brother Burke — had something to do with her death.
Despite JonBenet’s death taking place almost 30 years ago, the case has continued to receive attention from true crime fans all over the world with countless reports, television specials and investigations being taken to pinpoint JonBenét’s killer.
However, while there are many theories, no one has ever been charged over her murder. And, after decades of the family being suspected of her killing, prosecutors officially cleared the family of wrongdoing in 2008 and sent them a letter of apology. Sadly, Patsy died of cancer in 2006.
Earlier this year, JonBenét’s father John Bennett revealed that he still hasn’t given up hope.
“Our family reputation has been damaged quite severely by the police. The only way it will be mostly restored is if there is a killer caught,” John Bennett said, per NBC News.
What is the Katy Perry theory and how did it begin?
Back in 2014, a YouTuber named Dave Johnson released a seven-minute video in which he claimed JonBenét Ramsey’s death was a hoax orchestrated so that she could become a star. In the now-deleted video, he claimed that JonBenét grew up to become Katy Perry.
“All of these people are liars, man. Nobody died, nobody got hurt. That sacrifice was in name only, and that was to get something, and that something was to become a star. JonBenet became Katy Perry, and that’s a fact,” Dave said, per Us Weekly.
Dave’s biggest piece of evidence centred around the theory that Katy looks like an adult JonBenét. He illustrated this by overlaying Katy’s pics with JonBenéts pics. He also claimed that Katy’s parents — Pentecostal pastors Mary Perry and Maurice Hudson — were actually just Patsy and John Bennett in disguise.
However, there are some significant holes in this theory. Aside from the clearly subjective comments about JonBenét and Katy’s appearance, they were also born in different years. Katy was born in 1984 and JonBenét was born in 1990.
Plus, there’s also the tiny little detail of police finding Jon Benét’s body at the scene.
Although the Katy Perry theory got a lot of media attention, most people are on the same page that it’s pretty far-fetched.
However, many true crime fans are still positive that things aren’t adding up on the JonBenét case. While some believe that the family really did have something to do with it, others think JonBenét fell victim to an intruder.
Either way, the case is still considered to be an open and ongoing investigation by the Boulder Police Department.
Hopefully, we can find the identity of the killer in our lifetime.
