After sparking fury by arriving late to a performance and pulling out of a high-profile event at the last minute, Katie Price’s chaotic lifestyle may be spinning “out of control”, according to worried friends and family.
The 47 year old angered fans when she turned up more than two hours behind schedule to take the stage alongside Kerry Katona for their live production, An Audience With Katie Price And Kerry Katona, last week.
The pair were due to perform at Whitley Bay’s The Playhouse theatre at 7.30pm on September 15. But on the evening, a post from the theatre told fans that the performance would star half an hour late due to “technical difficulties”. However, when 8pm arrived, Katie was still missing – leaving Kerry to carry on the show on her own, the Mirror reports.
Katie did appear via video link before she finally turned up at the theatre around 9.35pm and remained on stage for just 35 minutes.
Katie claimed that heavy traffic and looking after her son, Harvey, who has Prader-Willi syndrome, partial blindness and autism, were the reasons for her delayed arrival. But some fans weren’t convinced by her explanation, and were “furious” with the brief amount of time she spent on stage.
It marked the second occasion in 48 hours that Katie had faced criticism for disappointing her fans, after she was slammed for axing a charity performance and then going out partying instead. Katie was scheduled to perform at the afterparty for Milton Keynes Pride on Saturday, September 13.
However, organisers released a statement claiming they were told at extremely short notice that Katie would no longer be attending.
“The official afterparty was booked and promoted as a fundraising event, with Katie Price contracted as the headline performer,” a spokesperson said. “Despite repeated attempts of contact to fulfil this agreement, her management has confirmed she will not be honouring her booking. This decision was made at short notice and is entirely outside of our control.”
The organisers further expressed their disappointment, noting that despite the “consistent support” shown to Katie from the LGBTQ+ community, it was “deeply regrettable” to see that it wasn’t reciprocated from her.
The mum-of-five blamed her no-show on work commitments, saying: “I’m not going to be able to make it. I’ve got filming and obviously I’m in the studio recording my new track, so I will be there next year.”
However, eyebrows were raised when she was seen partying at Geordie Shore star Chloe Ferry’s 30th birthday bash. During the celebration, Katie even took to the mic to perform her 2017 single I Got U.
Friends and family have voiced their worries about her behaviour. “Katie has been turning up late to events – or not turning up at all – and those close to her are worried that she might be getting out of control. They’ve witnessed it before. She’s trying to do it all, but she’s burning herself out. It doesn’t seem to be sinking in,” a source reveals.
“Katie doesn’t seem to care that she’s not just letting down the venues and the organisers, she’s also letting down her fans who have paid money to come to see her – it’s simply not fair on them.”
“She doesn’t realise that being this unreliable has consequences, and while punctuality has never been her strong point, it’s not a good look,” the source continued.
“Everyone around her thinks that she needs to focus on herself and get to a good place rather than to continue being on stage and working.”
However, Katona insists that Katie’s unreliable behaviour has very reasonable explanations – and she doesn’t hold it against her. She stated: “Katie had Harvey at home and a nine-hour drive to get to the show, where the traffic was mental, so I completely understood her being late. She has been on stage and working until silly hours each night so I don’t blame her at all, it was out of her control.
“Katie has been really reliable the rest of the tour so people need to give her a break. She did the first half of the show virtually, so it’s not like she wasn’t there at all. Lots of people in the audience actually found it quite funny that she was late, too.”
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The former glamour model has endured a turbulent few months. In August, her ex-husband Peter Andre slammed her on social media, stating he was sick of her “repeated lies” and claims about the wellbeing of their children Princess and Junior.
Then former partner Alex Reid also branded her for “spreading lies” and posted a clip of her apparently handling cash whilst bankrupt.
“Katie isn’t in a great place – she’s partying one minute and dodging things she’s previously committed to the next,” the source claims. “People rely on her, so of course it’s frustrating when she doesn’t pull through. But she’s had a tough few months – she needs to slow down and take time out for herself. This kind of erratic lifestyle isn’t good for her.”
