Orlando Bloom has made a huge admission about the infamous paddleboarding pictures that sent social media into meltdown.

Back in 2016, the Pirates of the Caribbean star was captured completely nude while vacationing in Sardinia, Italy, with then-fiancée Katy Perry.

While the snaps quickly became a viral sensation, Bloom later admitted he never expected anyone would be watching.

Orlando Bloom has made a huge admission about the infamous paddleboarding pictures. Credit: Thomas Cooper / Getty

The Vacation Moment That Broke The Internet

The photos showed the now-49-year-old English actor completely naked, with a large black censor box covering his modesty in most published versions.

According to Bloom, the entire situation came as a complete shock as he genuinely believed he and Perry were completely alone.

"Yes, it was extremely surprising," he told Elle UK in 2017. "I wouldn't have put myself in that position if I'd thought it would happen."

The Lord of the Rings star explained that privacy had never been a concern during the trip.

"We'd been completely alone for five days. Nothing around us. There was no way anyone could get anything," he said. "So I had a moment of feeling free."

Despite spending much of his career being followed by photographers, Bloom admitted he got it wrong this time.

"I've been photographed a million times in a million ways. I have a good radar... But clearly, not good enough," he said.

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom ended their engagement last year. Credit: Taylor Hill / Getty

Katy Perry Saw It Coming

The 'Fireworks' songstress later revealed she had chosen not to join Bloom in going fully nude during the trip.

During an appearance on The Howard Stern Show in 2020, she explained: "Well, he tried to get me there [naked] and I was like, 'Nah.'"

"In the back of my mind I'm like, I am Jim Carrey in The Truman Show a little bit. Maybe there would be a chance [of being photographed]. I'm a little bit more of the pragmatic one in the partnership," she quipped.

"It was Europe, and we'd had a pretty chill time for a week, everyone was naked. It was Europe, it was Italy! I think he wanted to fit in with the locals. It was the end of the trip," she added.

Orlando Addresses The Optical Illusion

The Troy star later addressed the attention surrounding the images during a separate appearance on The Howard Stern Show.

He attempted to clear up some of the internet's assumptions, explaining: "Things are expanded on cameras with a big optical lens. It is an optical illusion… It is really not that big."

He also recalled receiving an awkward phone call from his publicist after the images surfaced.

"The publicist called to say, 'That is not the worst of it. First of all, there were pictures with a block over it.' And you make some jokes like: 'Have you got a black box big enough to cover it?'" he said.

"But then you suddenly realize somebody is going to uncover the black box because they are going to be paid enough. It's a triple whammy- photos, black box, then no black box," he added.

Perry and Bloom share a daughter. Credit: Taylor Hill / Getty

From Engagement To Co-Parenting

Bloom and Perry briefly split in 2017 before rekindling their romance later that year.

The pair became engaged on Valentine's Day in 2019 and welcomed their daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom, in August 2020.

However, on June 26, 2025, the couple ended their engagement and decided to go their separate ways.

In a joint statement provided to People, representatives said: "Due to the abundance of recent interest and conversation surrounding Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry’s relationship, representatives have confirmed that Orlando and Katy have been shifting their relationship over the past many months to focus on co-parenting."

"They will continue to be seen together as a family, as their shared priority is - and always will be - raising their daughter [Daisy Dove, 4½] with love, stability, and mutual respect."

The 'I Kissed A Girl' singer is now in a relationship with Justin Trudeau, the former Prime Minister of Canada.

The couple has been spotted attending public events together, including the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Perry's concert film, Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour – Live In Paris.

Featured image credit: Thomas Cooper / Getty

In the summer of 2016, Orlando Bloom unknowingly etched himself into internet legend when his "big black box" became the envy of men everywhere.

Yes, the actor made headlines when he was photographed paddleboarding completely nude while on vacation with then-girlfriend Katy Perry in Sardinia, Italy.

Nearly a decade later, the images — showing the Lord of the Rings star in the buff behind a bikini-clad Perry, his modesty protected by a large black rectangle censor — remain one of the most viral celebrity photo moments of the modern era.

Bloom, now 47, candidly reflected on the bizarre chapter of his life, and he's doing so with a mix of humility and humor.

"Are We Going to Talk About My Penis?"

Speaking to Elle UK in 2017, Bloom recalled how the incident took him by complete surprise. “Yes, it was extremely surprising,” he said. “I wouldn’t have put myself in that position if I’d thought it would happen.”

“We’d been completely alone for five days. Nothing around us. There was no way anyone could get anything,” he explained. “So I had a moment of feeling free.”

Despite decades of being trailed by paparazzi, Bloom admitted he misread the moment: “I’ve been photographed a million times in a million ways. I have a good radar... But clearly, not good enough.”

When the interviewer noted the likely media uproar had it been a female celebrity photographed nude, Bloom responded: “I didn’t take it that deep, darlin’. What can I tell you? Note to self: you’re never free. Ha!”

Katy Perry: “He Tried to Get Me to Strip and I Was Like, ‘Nah’”

Perry - who is now once again making headlines amid the couple's rumored "split" - offered her own insights into the incident during a 2020 appearance on The Howard Stern Show.

“Well, he tried to get me there [naked] and I was like, ‘Nah,’” Perry said. “In the back of my mind I'm like, I am Jim Carrey in The Truman Show a little bit. Maybe there would be a chance [of being photographed]. I'm a little bit more of the pragmatic one in the partnership.”

Perry explained that nudity felt commonplace during their trip. “It was Europe, and we'd had a pretty chill time for a week, everyone was naked. It was Europe, it was Italy! I think he wanted to fit in with the locals. It was the end of the trip.”

Going Viral — And Laughing Through It

In the days leading up to the infamous photos, Bloom had been playfully bragging about online stats related to his blockbuster roles.

“Days before, he was talking about Twitter and some statistics about Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings, you know, in good fun,” Perry recalled. “I was like, eye roll, eye roll, eye roll.”

Then, seemingly overnight, Bloom became the number one trend online—not for a film release, but for what the camera captured in Sardinia.

“Be careful what you wish for, eh Bloom?” Perry joked.

Bloom later addressed the, shall we say, optical impression created by the paparazzi shots. Appearing on The Howard Stern Show, he explained: “Things are expanded on cameras with a big optical lens. It is an optical illusion… It is really not that big.”

He recalled receiving a heads-up from his publicist: “The publicist called to say, ‘That is not the worst of it. First of all, there were pictures with a block over it.’ And you make some jokes like: ‘Have you got a black box big enough to cover it?’”

“But then you suddenly realise somebody is going to uncover the black box because they are going to be paid enough. It's a triple whammy—photos, black box, then no black box.”

Relationship Growth and Staying Amicable

Despite the online whirlwind, Bloom and Perry weathered the storm — and then some. The couple briefly split in 2017, before reuniting later that year. They got engaged on Valentine’s Day in 2019 and welcomed their daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom, in August 2020.

In an interview, Perry revealed the temporary separation allowed both of them to grow individually, ultimately strengthening their bond.

Even after their brief split, Bloom emphasized the importance of maintaining maturity in public relationships. “We’re friends. It’s good. We’re all grown-up,” he told the press. “She happens to be someone who is very visible, but I don’t think anybody cares what I’m up to. Nor should they. It’s between us. It’s better to set an example for kids and show that [break-ups] don’t have to be about hate.”

However, as previously mentioned, a source tells Us Weekly that Bloom and "Perry have split but are amicable", with their separation being described as “a long time coming".

Featured image credit: Taylor Hill / Getty

Katy Perry has opened up about that infamous naked paddleboarding photo, which broke the internet back in 2016.

The singer, who is currently expecting her first child with the Lord of the Rings actor, explained during her recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show that the pair were on holiday in Italy at the time of the photograph, and that Bloom was simply embracing the European lifestyle by stripping off.

Perry even alleged that her 43-year-old fiancée tried to convince her to get naked too, but "I was like, nah."

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"I mean, I would have never like set him up, if I had a real thought, but in the back of my mind… I am Jim Carrey in The Truman Show a little bit, so I thought maybe there would be a chance. I would say I’m a little more of the pragmatic in the partnership," the Firework singer told Stern.

She added that the couple had a "pretty chill time for a week," noting, "well, it was Europe… everywhere we looked it was like everybody’s naked, it’s Europe, it’s Italy".

"I think he wanted to fit in with the locals and it was the end of the trip," she continued, revealing that soon after the picture started making the rounds on social media, it became the number one trending topic on Twitter, to which Perry exclaimed: "How? How?"

Watch the clip below: 

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Bloom has previously spoken to Stern about the photo, and explained that his package is "really not that big… things are expanded on cameras with a big optical lens. It is an optical illusion."

"The publicist called to say, ‘That is not the worst of it. First of all there were pictures with a block over it.’ And you make some jokes like: ‘Have you got a black box big enough to cover it?'" he continued. "And then you suddenly realise somebody is going to uncover the black box because they are going to be paid enough. It’s a triple whammy – photos, black box, then no black box."

He then said that he quickly texted his ex-wife, Miranda Kerr, to warn her and their eight-year-old son, Flynn, that the image was circulating on the internet.

In 2016, Orlando Bloom was photographed completely naked while paddleboarding off Sardinia, with his now-fiancée Katy Perry by his side.

The photographs went viral instantly - with many noting the generous size of his manhood - but now the Pirates Of The Caribbean actor is insisting that his package isn’t quite as impressive as it may have initially appeared in the pictures.

Remember when Katy Perry was criticised for ordering a contestant to kiss her in spite of his reluctance to do so?

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In an interview with the always-outspoken DJ Howard Stern Orlando said:

“It is really not that big. Things are expanded on cameras with a big optical lens. It is an optical illusion. The publicist called to say, ‘That is not the worst of it. First of all there were pictures with a block over it’. And you make some jokes like, ‘Have you got a black box big enough to cover it’."

And then you suddenly realise somebody is going to uncover the black box because they are going to be paid enough. It's a triple whammy - photos, black box then no black box."

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The 42-year-old actor then went on to talk about his history of drug use - from when he was a teenager.

"When I was 16, I experimented with all kinds of things," he revealed. "Pot made me really paranoid. I cannot do paranoid."

Orlando's ex-wife and former Victoria's Secret model Miranda Kerr talked about the explicit photos in 2016 on Australian radio station Kyle & Jackie O.

In this American Idol clip, Perry is brought to tears by a formerly paralyzed contestant:

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"Oh my god, he text me and he was like, "Um, I'm really embarrassed," she said. "Some photos are coming out. Just thought I should let you know And I was like, "Hmmmm ... right, what were you thinking? Seriously, what were you thinking?"

Fans are in awe after Orlando Bloom shared striking footage of him paddleboarding in Malibu as a great white shark swam just feet beneath him.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star, 44, shared the short clip with his 5.3 million Instagram followers on Tuesday, September 14.

Bloom captioned the post: "Paddle Boarding With Great Whites [...] When fear becomes your friend and @themalibuartist captures the moment."

The actor's friend Carlos Gauna was responsible for capturing the moment his daredevil pal was circled by the predator.

Carlos later wrote in the comments section of the post: "Awesome day man! You got some good looks of a large juvenile white shark. Happy for you! Something you'll never forget. Very calm shark just chilling in Malibu!"

Needless to say, Orlando's followers wasted no time in flocking to the comments to share their own thoughts.

One person wrote: "Amazing! It must be a fabulous experience."

Another person said that sharks are "one of the most beautiful and misunderstood fish of the ocean."

A third chimed in to say: "Omg you’re insane."

Other fans couldn't help but mention another viral paddleboard-related moment featuring Orlando, which saw the Lord of the Rings actor hitting the waves entirely in the nude.

One person commented alongside a laughing-crying emoji: "Yep we all remember the other paddle boarding [sic] picture."

Another wrote: "You look a lot different this time on a paddelboard [sic] than the last time I saw you on a paddleboard."

It was back in 2016 that Orlando was pictured naked while paddleboarding off the coast of Sardinia, with his partner Katy Perry by his side.

The attention he received when the images began circulating online was such that the actor even felt compelled to insist that his manhood really isn't as large as it may have appeared in the photos.

He said in a 2019 interview with Howard Stern: "It is really not that big. Things are expanded on cameras with a big optical lens. It is an optical illusion."

Orlando said of the hoopla: "The publicist called to say, 'That is not the worst of it. First of all, there were pictures with a block over it'. And you make some jokes like, 'Have you got a black box big enough to cover it.'"

Featured image credit: dpa picture alliance / Alamy

Lord of the Rings actor Orlando Bloom has revealed that he was celibate for six months before hooking up with Katy Perry, as a way of getting in touch with his feminine side.

Speaking to The Times in a recent interview, Bloom claims that his close friend Laird Williams encouraged him to give up sex as a way of getting over his ennui over dating.

Watch the moment Katy Perry revealed she was pregnant with Orlando Bloom's baby: 

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Bloom stated: "Laird said: 'If you want to be serious about a relationship, go celibate for a few months and figure it out.' It takes away the idea of going to a party and thinking: 'Who am I going to meet?'"

He added: "I was suddenly, like: 'Oh, I can have a relationship with a woman that is just friends.' Wherever I went there was a bit of [frisson]. And I loved women."

Bloom also stated that he didn't masturbate either, stating: "No. I didn’t even [masturbate]. Completely nothing. It was insane. I don’t think it’s healthy. I don’t think it was advisable. You have to keep it moving down there."

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However, it's clear that Bloom's celibacy has ended after meeting Katy Perry, since the pop star has since revealed that she's actually pregnant with Bloom's baby.

Perry confirmed she was expecting when the new music video for her song 'Never Worn White' dropped, which sees her wearing a white wedding gown and floral dress and then cradling her baby bump at the end.

In a later post on Instagram live, Perry stated: "There’s a lot that’s happening this summer. Not only will I be giving birth, literally, and figuratively… to something you guys have been waiting for."

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She added: "I’m excited. We’re excited and happy. It’s probably the longest secret I’ve ever had to keep. I thought I would tell you guys in the best way through a piece of music. While it’s not the lead single, it’s a good way to start out. I had to reveal it [the pregnancy] at some point. It’s getting pretty obvious."