Katy Perry causes LA courtroom to burst out laughing after offering to perform live in court – to prove she didn’t steal hit song

KATY Perry caused a stir in a Los Angeles court by offering to sing live in the witness box - to prove she didn't copy another song.

The pop star is accused of stealing the beat from her 2013 hit Dark Horse from a trio of Christian rappers.

At court in Los Angeles, Katy sat just two seats away from controversial co-defendant Dr Luke, who was accused of raping her by fellow singer Kesha.

Kesha, who also accused Dr Luke of rape and bullying, claimed in a text to Lady Gaga that Dr Luke raped the I Kissed A Girl singer - although Katy has denied she was raped in court documents.

Katy and Dr Luke, along with four others, are being sued by rappers Flame and D.A. Truth, plus beats creator Chike Ojukwu, who claim their 2007 track Joyful Noise has the same intro as Katy’s song.

Wearing mint green suit, Katy gave evidence for 25 minutes - denying the claim and saying said she had never heard of the rappers or their song.

When a tech fault prevented her own song being played, she caused the courtroom to burst into laughter by saying: “I could perform it for you live.”

Katy, who was not accompanied to court by British boyfriend Orlando Bloom, also insisted that she and her co-writers had not found the rappers’ song online.

She triggered more laughs when she added that when she was writing the song at a studio in Santa Barbara “a form of entertainment would be to go on YouTube and watch videos of cats and drink white wine as a break for our ears.”

Katy also talked about performing the song, which featured on the album Prism, at the Super Bowl in 2015, which she described as “touching the sky” in terms of prestige.

Talking about the pressure to perform at her best during the halftime show, she said: “I don’t wish it on anyone.”

She also said told the court how she had never cancelled any live performance she was due at, including the 161 shows in her 2014-2105 Prism world tour which featured her performing Dark Horse.

“I never cancelled a show and I am very proud of it,” she said.

Talking about her aims as a songwriter, she said: “My goal has always been to be a messenger of vulnerability, honesty and truth.”

She discussed making a Christian pop LP as Katy Hudson in 2001 but admitted it only sold between 200 and 300 copies.

Katy, whose parents are pastors, said she then stopped performing Christian music as she split from her label and started listening to “secular music.”

She claims Dr Luke and producer Cirkut produced the beat and they had never heard rappers’ track.

Katy said that when Dr Luke and Cirkut played it to her, she wanted to make a song from it because “the kind of dark feeling” she got from it appealed to her.

She described their song as a “moody metaphor like the Trojan horse and the power of a woman and not to cross a woman because that karma is not good for you.”

Katy’s deposition from March this year when she talked about her song was also read out.

In it, she makes the surprising admission: “I don’t read music.”

Attorney Mike Conn, representing the rappers, said their song Joyful Noise appeared on a Grammy-nominated album, Our World Redeemed and became a high-profile song more than a decade ago.

He told the jury: “We’re here to prove to you that the beat in Dark Horse infringes on the plaintiffs’ copyright. The defendants took this part of the song without permission.”

The trial at Downtown LA’s district court is expected to last two weeks.