Hillary Clinton Honors Katy Perry at UNICEF Ball in Surprise Appearance
Hillary Clinton honored her longtime supporter, Katy Perry, at the UNICEF Snowflake Ball last night (November 29), where the former Secretary of State made a surprise appearance to celebrate the “Firework” singer’s humanitarian work.
Hillary highlighted Katy's efforts as a goodwill ambassador for the organization, before presenting Katy with UNICEF’s Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award, according to PEOPLE.
"[Katy] has the spirit and the energy and the compassion that Audrey Hepburn brought to her work for UNICEF,” she said, and went on to describe the Prism singer as "someone whose powerful voice and creative lyrics remind us when you get knocked down to get back up.”
“She has been a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF since 2013, she has traveled the world advocating for the rights and needs of children, she has visited some of the poorest places on Earth and lent her voice to kids who would otherwise be voiceless from remote villages to Vietnam and Madagascar,” Hillary said. “She has put a spotlight on child poverty and encouraged the empowerment of women and girls.”
Hillary then spoke about her personal relationship with the Teenage Dream singer, who campaigned for the former presidential nominee throughout the length of the election and performed at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
“I have seen Katy’s commitment to the causes she believes in firsthand. I’ve gotten to spend time with her and I know how deeply she cares about making our world a better place,” Hillary said. “She is serious about understanding the complex problems we face and pulling people together to solve them. We need champions like Katy now more than ever -- her passion, her energy and, yes, her voice, louder than a lion, so, Katy Perry, congratulations and thank you so much.”
Katy -- who attended the event with boyfriend Orlando Bloom -- was reportedly moved to tears by the gesture and expressed her gratitude toward Hillary in a short acceptance speech.
“I’ve always had a voice – a singing voice – but I’ve never had a voice like I’ve had before," she said. "Hillary has lit that voice inside of me, and that light will never go out, it will continue to get brighter and brighter and brighter. Thank you, Hillary. You motivate me and so many millions of people,”
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