Elle cover

Perry appears on the cover of Elle. Perry discusses the challenges of performing the Super Bowl halftime show.

In my show, I am boss daddy. I am boss mommy. They call me Boss. Everything goes through my eyes; I call all the shots, 100 percent of it. With the NFL, I have to be accountable to several levels of red tape. There are many committees I have to go through for my costumes, the budgets of my show, every interview—everything, I have to report to somebody. So I am no longer the boss; I have to relinquish that control. We love this opportunity, but once you decide you’re gonna do the Super Bowl, you’re gonna have no f-cking life for six months. It is the biggest thing. Anyone that’s ever done it has been scared shitless. You stay off the Internet for the five days afterward.