When a former world leader and a chart-topping songstress share a meal, folks sit up and take notice faster than a prairie dog at a rattlesnake convention.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s former Prime Minister, and Katy Perry, the California girl singer who turned pop music on its ear, recently broke bread together in Montreal. Now, I’ve seen my share of political dinners in smoke-filled rooms, but this one’s got a different tune.
The pair spent two hours at Le Violon, a fine dining establishment that’s about as far from a greasy spoon as you can get without leaving the atmosphere. They kept to themselves, quiet as church mice on Sunday, with nary a hint of romance in the air.
Perry’s fresh off a split from Orlando Bloom and on tour faster than a tumbleweed in a Texas tornado. Trudeau, meanwhile, separated from his wife Sophie last year. The stakes couldn’t be higher for two public figures trying to navigate the choppy waters of personal life in the public eye.
Trudeau’s father, Pierre, was known for his bachelor ways in office, dating starlets like he was picking wildflowers. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, some might say. But what we know for certain is this: assumptions in politics are about as reliable as a screen door on a submarine.
They dined on a chef’s menu that would make a cowboy trade his horse for a table. Tuna, beef tartare, lobster, asparagus, and lamb; a spread that could make a billy goat bust its chain. And true to Canadian courtesy, they thanked the kitchen staff before departing.
What does this meeting of minds mean for the intersection of politics and pop culture? In my decades of reporting, I’ve seen this pattern before. When the worlds of statesmanship and stardom collide, it’s often a harbinger of change, as sure as the turning of the Earth.
Whether this dinner leads to more or fades like a summer sunset remains to be seen. But one thing’s for certain, in the grand tapestry of American and Canadian relations, it’s a colorful thread that’s got people talking.
