Skip to main content

Katy Perry didn't know who J.J. Watt was before their ESPN cover shoot

Katy Perry didn't know who J.J. Watt was before they appeared on the cover of ESPN the Magazine together.

Most NFL fans know who J.J. Watt is, and many NFL quarterbacks are intimately familiar with the Houston Texans defensive end.

Katy Perry, however, is not in either of those groups.

The pop star admitted to ESPN's Chris Connelly that she had to Google Watt prior to appearing with him on the cover of ESPN the Magazine's February issue.

"I went straight to Google," she says. What she saw? Watt's bloody visage as he battled the Seahawks in 2013. "I've been showing it to all my friends, saying, 'Check out this guy. I'm gonna be shootin' with this guy.'"

Watt's 57 sacks over the past four seasons, earning him First-Team All-Pro honors the last three seasons, have captured the attention of many, but apparently not everybody.

The photo shoot comes before Perry is slated to perform in the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 1, an opportunity of which Watt was envious.

"She's playing in a bigger game than I've ever gotten to play in," Watt said. "I'm hoping to someday be in those shoes."

- Christopher Woody