Katy Perry: Nuns Say Refusal To Sell Convent To Singer Isn’t About Racy Music

Katy Perry has been interested in buying a convent in California for a few years now, but after putting in an offer and meeting with the owners, it doesn’t look like she’ll be getting what she wants. A group of nuns who used to call the convent their home say they have the final word in who will take over ownership, and they want to sell to a restaurateur who put in a higher offer than Perry.

The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart say they met with Perry and researched her online, and although they weren’t impressed with her performances, they say that their decision isn’t about personal tastes. It’s simply a matter of money, and Dana Hollister has already offered $15.5 million over Perry’s $14 million. However, Los Angeles archbishop Jose Gomez accepted Katy Perry’s offer before conferring with the nuns, and later set up a meeting with them in the hopes that they would allow him to complete the sale with the pop star.

“She pulls out her phone to get the words for ‘Oh Happy Day.’ I was looking at my attorney, thinking, ‘What on earth?'” said Sister Rita Callanan.

Funds from the sale of the convent — a historic building located near the infamous Manson murders home — will go to the nuns after they were forced to leave and split up, the blame for which they say lies with the archdiocese. For them, the ability to make the final decision about the sale is a big deal.

“We have given many years to this archdiocese and we have served them well. For the archdiocese to put us under a bus and run over us, I’m sorry, it was just too much for me… I hope Pope Francis has been seeing this, because if anybody can help us it’s him. I think he’ll stop this nonsense, I really do,” Sister Callanan said.

Katy reportedly made the offer on the convent in cash, and she can certainly afford it; she recently made the number three spot on the Forbes Highest Paid Celebrities list. Katy says she’s proud of her ability to have people working for her and explained that she’s more than a musician.

“I am proud of my position as a boss, as a person that runs my own company. I’m an entrepreneur… I don’t want to shy away from it. I actually want to kind of grab it by its balls,” Katy Perry said.

[Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images]