Topics: Canada, Celebrity, Coachella, Festivals, Music, Politics, Sex and Relationships, Social Media, Environment
Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and American singer Katy Perry made their Coachella debut over the weekend.
The couple, who have been romantically linked since mid-2025, enjoyed the first weekend of the major Californian music festival with Perry, 41, taking to Instagram on Sunday (12 April) to share a number of snaps cosied up with Trudeau, 54.
One photo was taken behind Perry and Trudeau as they walked through the festival holding hands, while another saw them sitting down and enjoying some snacks in between sets.
Trudeau chowed down on some noodles while they both held red plastic Solo cups.
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Another selfie-angle video taken by Perry showing her dancing with Trudeau within a crowd at Justin Bieber's headline set saw the plastic cups make another appearance.
Critics have since been left seething after spotting the plastic cups, with many rushing to social media to call out the allegedly 'hypocritical' Trudeau, who worked towards banning harmful single-use plastics when he was PM of Canada.
While he announced the ban in June 2019, the official federal ban took effect on December 20, 2022, with the policy designed to fight plastic pollution, with Trudeau citing the need to protect oceans and wildlife.
The Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations prohibited the manufacture, import, and sale of items like checkout bags, cutlery, stir sticks, and certain food service ware.
Sales restrictions started in December 2023.
Images have circled on X showing Trudeau using the single-use plastic cups, prompting one critic to seethe: "And this a**hole is drinking out of a plastic cup, after banning them for the entire country."
Not all plastic cups are banned in Canada.
The government's regulations ban the manufacture, import and sale of specific single-use items, including certain foodservice cups made from harmful plastics like expanded polystyrene foam, PVC, or Oxo-degradable types. Meanwhile, cups made from other materials, such as polypropylene, are still legal.
A second piped up: "Justin Trudeau, Jun. 10, 2019: I'm banning Canadians from using single-use plastics! Justin Trudeau, Apr. 12, 2026: Look at me smash booze from a solo cup at Coachella!"
"As a Canadian business owner who's dealt with the endless red tape and costs from this government's bans, this is peak Trudeau hypocrisy," declared a third. "Bans single-use plastics nationwide, slaps small businesses and consumers with higher costs and hassle... then jets off to Coachella sipping from a plastic cup like the rules don't apply to him and his celebrity friends."
Others, however, defended Trudeau with a fourth X user questioning: "What’s he supposed to do in this situation? Reject the drink? They wouldn’t have any other mechanisms."
"He doesn’t get to choose what Coachella supplies for drinks," pointed out another.
And a final person wrote: "Omg babe he’s not going to search around asking for a paper cup. Stop stressing urself out."
Tyla has reached out to Justin Trudeau's representatives for comment.
