Katy Perry's performance of "Dark Horse" on Sunday night's Grammy Awards was a far cry from her Christian roots, and has stirred criticism from some for its satanic imagery and portrayal of witchcraft.
The 29-year-old was once known as Gospel singer Katy Hudson, however, over recent years the singer has ditched Christianity and has undergone a massive u-turn with her more recent dark performance on Jan. 26, 2014.
Her performance displayed dark imagery, including witchcraft and demons, and even portrayed being burned at the stake as a witch.
Perry herself was dressed as the witch and wore a Knights of Templar cross across her. After pole-dancing on the broom, she performed what appeared to be a satanic ritual before finally being 'burned at the stake' towards the end of her performance.
Caught by surprise, Twitter was abuzz after the performance of "Dark Horse."
E! News tweeted: "Um, did we just witness actual witchcraft during Katy Perry's #Grammys performance?"
Glenn Beck, the conservative television and radio host, said on his radio show Tuesday that her performance was like a full-fledged demonic glorification. "The fire in the circle, her hanging onto the witch's broom, and the guys with the gigantic horns on their head in the background....I mean, it is full-fledged witchcraft and demonic glorification, I think."
Beck warned on his show: "It's not going to end well. We're worshiping a god that is glorifying division. It is glorifying just bad things, dark things, dark thoughts. It is glorifying envy and greed, stuff, materialism. It's not a good path."
Perry was raised in a strong evangelical Christian household with both her parents devout followers of Jesus, however, she recently spoke out against her past faith and revealed that she he now rejected her former religion in an interview with Marie Claire.
In the magazine's December 2013 issue, she revealed that she is no longer a Christian and does not believe in heaven or hell.
In the interview, she indicated that she does believe in God but that she does not associate with any particular religion. Perry said, "I'm not Buddhist, I'm not Hindu, I'm not Christian, but I still feel like I have a deep connection with God. I pray all the time — for self-control, for humility. There's a lot of gratitude in it. Just saying 'thank you' sometimes is better than asking for things."
