Katy Perry was stranded inside a giant inflatable bottle during her Isle of MTV Malta performance as fans refused to roll her back to the stage, creating a viral concert moment.
Katy Perry found herself temporarily stranded inside a giant inflatable water bottle after fans appeared to ignore her instructions during her headline performance at Isle of MTV Malta on Wednesday, 22 July 2026. The 41-year-old pop star climbed into the human-sized inflatable bottle, which had been nicknamed ‘Katyade’.
The Teenage Dream singer climbed into the transparent bottle while performing at the Floriana Granaries, expecting the crowd to roll her towards an enormous straw positioned near the stage.
Instead, viral footage showed concertgoers repeatedly pushing the prop in the opposite direction as Perry shouted and gestured for them to take her back.
The incident unfolded during the performance of chart-topping songs.
In several videos, Perry appeared to switch between laughing, pointing towards the straw and pleading with fans to change direction as she became increasingly distant from the stage.
The bottle stunt had a specific design.
The prop is designed to travel through the crowd before returning to the stage, but footage from the Malta show appears to show it moving further into the audience before eventually making its way back.
Security staff in the pit initially helped move the prop, but once it reached the general crowd, control was effectively lost. The audience, apparently thrilled to have the singer in their hands, kept rolling her away from the stage rather than towards it.
Clips flooded social media quickly.
Clips posted on TikTok, Instagram, X and Reddit show Perry crouching inside the transparent bottle while gesturing towards the stage.
The incident occurred while Perry was performing her 2008 hit “I Kissed a Girl” at Il-Fosos Square.
Fans on social media laughed at the unplanned moment.
One Reddit user wrote, “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?”
Another commented, “Do you ever feel, like a plastic bottle, drifting through the crowd, wanting to get out?”
The memes referenced her 2010 hit explicitly.
Many referenced the opening line from Perry’s 2010 hit track Firework to humor her: “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?”
Critics questioned the stunt’s planning online.
One person wrote, “who told her that was a good idea??”
Another added, “I understand why SHE did it. I don’t understand how her management, security, and lawyers didn’t veto it.”
A further comment read, “Her first mistake was thinking that a mob of humans would ever follow directions.”
The official Isle of MTV leaned into the chaos.
Perry had done this stunt before in Europe.
Perry had previously introduced the oversized water bottle during a concert in France, where she celebrated after the crowd successfully carried her ‘to the straw’.
In the viral moment that preceded this Malta performance, the Teenage Dream singer climbed into the transparent bottle while performing at the Floriana Granaries, expecting the crowd to roll her towards an enormous straw positioned near the stage. Instead, viral footage showed concertgoers repeatedly pushing the prop in the opposite direction as Perry shouted and gestured for them to take her back. The spectacle unfolded during a section featuring Perry’s chart-topping songs ‘Hot N Cold’ and ‘I Kissed a Girl’. The unpredictable sequence became one of the most widely shared moments from the free music event.
Perry took the moment in stride.
Despite the confusion, Perry completed the crowd-surfing sequence and continued the performance without any reported injury.
She regained her balance and completed the song, later posting a wry Good Night San Fran on her Instagram story.
The rest of her show proceeded smoothly.
The singer also waved a Maltese flag, invited fans onto the stage and interacted directly with audience members during the headline set.
This wasn’t her first prop mishap.
In July 2025, during a Lifetimes Tour stop at the Chase Center in San Francisco, a butterfly-shaped rig she was perched on dropped several feet mid-performance of Roar before stabilising.
Isle of MTV Malta will premiere across MTV’s international networks on 18 September 2026.