Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom star in dystopian ad supporting voting rights legislation

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are urging Congress to pass voting rights legislation — from the future.

Perry and Bloom starred in an ad released Thursday in support of the For the People Act, Congress' voting rights bill. Set in 2055, the ad from the nonprofit organization RepresentUs depicts a dire future where democracy has died and shows Perry and Bloom sending a transmission back in time to the year 2021.

"You are our only hope," Bloom says. "The America you know doesn't exist in our future. Democracy is dead. We have no voice. The regime watches our every move."

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Perry then warns that this all started when "voter suppression ran wild all over America," the "voting rights bills died in the Senate," and "we lost our right to vote." They urge those watching in 2021 to change the future and "save democracy while you can," with a message on screen telling viewers to call their senator in support of passing the For the People Act.

The ad comes after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) earlier this month announced his opposition to the For the People Act, writing that "Congressional action on federal voting rights legislation must be the result of both Democrats and Republicans coming together to find a pathway forward" — and in the ad, the transmission from the future interrupts an interview with Manchin on Face the Nation. Manchin has since released a proposed compromise, which Stacey Abrams said Thursday she can support.

This ad was the first time that Bloom and Perry, who announced their engagement in 2019, have starred opposite one another, Deadline noted. Bloom in a statement described the For the People Act as the "single most important piece of legislation of our lifetimes," while Perry said that "time is running out to stop" politicians from "attacking our freedom to vote." Watch the ad below.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.