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Katy Perry's Teenage Dream music video co-star and model Josh Kloss has opened up about the "silent trauma" he has been carrying since the pop star allegedly exposed his genitals 14 years ago.
In his first interview since making the claims publicly via Instagram in August 2019, Josh shared with Page Six, "It's hard to bring up something that seems irrelevant to a lot of people."
However, after Ruby Ross publicly accused the Firework singer of sexually assaulting her "some two decades ago", Josh felt it was "important" to come forward and "explain myself".
The 45-year-old played Katy's on-screen love interest in the music video of her mega-hit track, which was filmed in Santa Barbara, California, in July 2010.
Josh shared that he was invited to a birthday party of Johnny Wujek, Katy's costume designer and stylist, two years later at Moonlight Rollerway skating rink in Glendale, California.
He claimed that when he arrived with a friend, Katy greeted him excitedly outside the venue, and as he was introducing the friend, the singer allegedly pulled his pants and underwear, exposing his penis.
In his August 2019 Instagram post, Josh said, "Can you imagine how pathetic and embarrassed I felt?"
In the Page Six interview, Josh said that he "freaked out" when the alleged incident happened, while Katy just "laughed".
"That's the main thing here. I want to clear that. I want to get rid of the confusion because some people believe that if you pull someone's pants down at a party, you're pranking them," Josh said, claiming that is not what he experienced.
He admitted that he might've had a crush on Katy at the time, which contributed to his confusion about the incident.
"It's kind of weird, right? When you're smitten by someone and then they reach out and they grab you or do something to you, that sometimes can be considered — from my generation — as flirtatious, as coming on to you," he shared.
Explaining why he came forward about the alleged incident, Josh shared that he reached a breaking point after years of fans telling him how "fortunate" and "lucky" he was to have been given such a notable platform by a major celebrity.
"She, who I should be grateful for, devalued and degraded me to the highest level in front of her closest peers. Why would I be grateful for that?" he recalled thinking, insisting that his "intentions" were not to "punish" the Dark Horse singer but rather "protect [his] own sanity".
Meanwhile, Ruby Rose accused Katy Perry of sexual assault in a series of Threads posts earlier this month, claiming the alleged incident occurred at a nightclub in Melbourne, Australia, when she was in her 20s.
Katy's rep vehemently denied the accusations, while a police report has been filed against the singer and she is being investigated by officials in Australia over the alleged incident.
Watch 'Teenage Dream' MV here:
