First there were rumors this week that Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom were engaged — and then there was buzz caused by their behavior at Tuesday’s UNICEF Snowflake Ball that Perry might be pregnant.
However, the singer’s rep shot down the notion — telling Page Six the pair’s not expecting.
Either way, when surprise guest Hillary Clinton took the stage at the gala to present Perry with the night’s prestigious Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award, Bloom was seen — and captured on a giant screen at the event in front of hundreds at Cipriani Wall Street — pulling Perry close as Clinton spoke, tenderly putting his hand on her stomach, leaving it there and then repeatedly rubbing her belly in circular motions at the black-tie gala.
“It seems like a weird move if she’s not pregnant?” said one observer of his tummy-rubbing session that Perry seemed thrilled with, as it blazed across the big screens behind Clinton.
But another source close to the couple said it was simply an affectionate gesture, and Perry’s rep told us of the rumor, “It’s false.”
Perry wore a flowy, empire-waisted gown with flower embellishments around the midsection. However, she was without the giant diamond ring she’d been seen rocking a night before — when she and Bloom left Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar — which had caused widespread speculation of an engagement. The duo’s been dating for 10 months.
At the podium, Perry said, “I’ve always had a singing voice. But now I have a voice like I have never had before, and Hillary has lit that voice inside of me. And that light will never go out . . . Hillary, you motivate me and so many millions of people.”
During an auction, “Katy made a surprise donation of a ‘concert experience’ with backstage passes,” said an attendee. “It went for $50,000, but the first bidder was Orlando. He kept bidding at the beginning, which was very cute.”
Guests also included Allison Williams, Marcus Samuelsson, Octavia Spencer and Gillian Miniter.