Katy Perry trapped inside giant inflatable water bottle during Malta concert stunt

Pop star Katy Perry became the center of a viral moment during her Isle of MTV Malta set when an inflatable water bottle prop went off course. Instead of rolling the singer back toward the main stage, concertgoers passed the giant “Katyade” bottle further into the crowd, leaving Perry pleading with fans to turn her around.

During her headlining performance at Il-Fosos Square for the Isle of MTV Malta festival, 41-year-old pop icon Katy Perry introduced a unique prop during her hit single “I Kissed a Girl.”

Perry climbed inside a human-sized, transparent inflatable water bottle nicknamed “Katyade.” The intended routine called for the audience to crowd-surf the inflatable toward a giant straw prop positioned near the main stage.

However, the coordination quickly broke down:

Drifting Away: Instead of rolling the bottle back toward the stage, audience members passed the massive plastic prop deeper into the crowd.

Loss of Balance: Video footage captured Perry struggling to keep her balance inside the rolling sphere while temperatures soared during a local summer heatwave.

Pleas to the Crowd: Realizing she was heading in the wrong direction, Perry shouted to the crowd, “Go back to the stage!” and expressed exasperation as fans continued moving her further away.

Fans Assist Return and Internet Reacts with Memes

After several minutes of unscripted crowd-surfing, concertgoers eventually turned the prop around, rolling Perry safely back to the stage so she could finish her set without further disruption.

Addressing the incident afterward on Isle of MTV Malta’s official social media channels, Perry laughed off the moment, “I basically get in this giant inflatable water bottle and I roll it into the crowd… Tonight I went kind of far and I was a little bit worried I was not gonna come back.”

Despite the brief concern, the mishap quickly triggered a wave of viral social media reactions and memes:

The moment quickly turned into meme material online. On Reddit and X, formerly Twitter, fans joked about the stunt by rewriting lyrics from her 2010 hit Firework. Posts like “Do you ever feel like a plastic bottle, drifting through the crowd, wanting to get out?” started circulating.

At the same time, others raised safety concerns, questioning how production and security teams approved an unguided inflatable prop to be passed through the crowd.

Global Broadcast Details

Despite the brief detour, Perry completed her performance cleanly once reunited with her band. The entire Isle of MTV Malta concert event is scheduled for a full global broadcast on MTV in September 2026.