If there is anything more disruptive than a crying baby on a flight, it is a YouTube ad. Add to that, an unskippable one. This collective annoyance has become a universal bond for the digital age, recently claiming its most famous recruit: global popstar Katy Perry. In a passing yet defining moment at Coachella 2026, the singer leaned into the relatability, sarcastically roasting the very ads that interrupt our favorite content.
Perry, who was in attendance at the music festival with her partner, Justin Trudeau, was enjoying headliner act Justin Bieber’s performance. For about half an hour during his set, Bieber pulled up YouTube on his Mac mid-show, scrolling through older recordings of his own music to sing along to.
Perry, watching from the audience, took to Instagram with her verdict. “Thank God he has [YouTube] premium, I don’t want to see no ads,” she said in a tongue-in-cheek video, which was posted on her Instagram carousel.
The dig landed perfectly, with part genuine relief, part a nod to the universal dread of an ad interrupting the moment. It was, by any measure, one of the more memorable moments of the weekend. And for everyone who has ever sat through a countdown they couldn’t skip, Perry said exactly what needed to be said.
