Critics gave mixed reviews of the music video upon its premiere . Nina Braca from '' Billboard '' called it " triumphant " , while '' The Malay Mail '' said it was " humorous " , and Nolfi from '' Entertainment Weekly '' described it as " candy-colored " . Direct Lyrics ' Kevin Apaza wrote : " We totally dug this video . We liked the high budget , all the perfect details , the deep message conveyed , and of course Katy 's humor too " . Ross McNeilage from MTV UK similarly praised the video , pointing out its " high-concept " and stating : " The ... singer 's visual treatment brings the lyrics to life , highlighting its themes of resilience with a fitting storyline . Despite the serious undertones of defiance , the video is jam-packed with Katy 's goofy humour throughout and does n't take itself too seriously at all . " Evan Jorssen of NRJ likened the three women seen in the clip accompanying Perry to characters from the 1993 American comedy horror fantasy film '' Hocus Pocus '' and the 1899 French film '' Cinderella '' . Julien Goncalves of Pure Charts compared parts of the video 's concept to Madonna 's live performance of " Vogue " ( 1990 ) at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards . In a negative review , Highsnobiety 's Gorsler wrote : " The visuals are , to put it kindly , less than stellar , with over-the-top production and a lavishly nonsensical plot making the music video one of the weirdest things to come out this year . But all that is to be expected from an artist like Katy Perry , who is famous for her eccentricity . " He also criticized the heavy product placement and the use of an air horn rap trumpet sound at the beginning of the video , which " sound s like Katy Perry spent a little too much time playing around with Virtual DJ " . '' Vice '' magazine also slightly criticized the product placement sequences
1990 MTV Video Music Awards
1990 MTV Video Music Awards
Hey Hey Hey