Justin Trudeau Skips Canada’s World Cup Opening to Join Katy Perry at U.S. Match: ‘Boyfriend Duties’

Justin Trudeau loves his home country, but he loves his California gurl, too. After skipping the World Cup opening in Canada to attend the United States vs. Paraguay match with Katy Perry instead, the politician explained his reasoning on social media.

In a Saturday (June 13) post on X, Trudeau reshared a New York Times article pointing out his absence from Canada’s face-off with Bosnia and Herzegovina the day prior. “Sometimes supportive boyfriend duties call,” he wrote, implying that he was needed elsewhere to cheer on his famous girlfriend as she performed during the opening ceremony before Team USA’s kickoff match.

“But you know who I’m rooting for to take the Cup,” the former Canadian prime minister added, along with a Canadian flag emoji.

Perry was one of several A-list artists who sang during the opening ceremony in Inglewood, Calif., on Friday (June 12), belting out “Wonder” from her 143 album live for the first time alongside 10-year-old Norwegian singer Tius Luka. The lineup also included LISA, Anitta, Tyla, Rema, Future and Dan + Shay.

Over in Canada, Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Elyanna, Jessie Reyez, Michael Bublé and more helped kick off Team Canada’s match against Paraguay with performances of their own.

The “Firework” musician and Trudeau have been dating since last summer. They recently made their red carpet debut at the premiere of her Lifetimes Tour concert film in Tribeca, where Perry called her partner “the love of my life” during a Q&A at the screening.

“I fly super high,” she said of Trudeau at the time. “Sometimes I need to be anchored. To have that anchor finally makes me feel really whole.”