On Saturday night, Katy Perryreceived the National Equality Award at the Human Rights Campaign Gala Dinner in Los Angeles. The singer, who in 2008 broke onto the scene with her chart-topping hit “I Kissed a Girl,” opened up about what a pivotal moment that song was for her while accepting her award.

“I’m just a singer-songwriter, honestly. I speak my truths, and I paint my fantasies into these little bite-size pop songs,” she began. “For instance, I kissed a girl and I liked it. Truth be told, I did more than that.”

When “I Kissed a Girl,” a song about sexual curiosity, emerged, many critics slammed the lyrics for their portrayal of the lives of queer women. At the time, a critic for Feministing.com wrote that “Perry’s lyrics reflect the trivialization of queer female sexuality and the cultural norms which state that female sexuality exists for the pleasure of men.”

In her remarks on Saturday night, Perry seemed to address that long-ago controversy as she told more of her personal story. The singer, who grew up in a strictly religious home and attended “youth groups that were pro-conversion camps,” said she didn’t have all the answers back then, but she questioned what she was being told.

“What I did know is that I was curious, and even then, I knew sexuality wasn’t as black and white as this dress,” Perry said. “And honestly, I haven’t gotten all of it right, but in 2008, when that song came out, I knew that I had started a conversation that a lot of the world seemed curious enough to sing along to.”

Perry said she spent most of her adolescence “[praying] the gay away” until, once she entered the music industry, she met people outside of her Christian “bubble,” and [her] “bubble began to burst” with the lessons they taught her:

“They were the most free, strong, kind, and inclusive people I have ever met . . . These people are actually magic, and they are magic because they are living their truth.” She went on, expressing empathy for those in the room: “Suffice to say, it’s been a long road for me, and I know a long road for many of you out there. I know it doesn’t always feel safe to live out who you are. But here’s the thing, though: I would have not chosen a different road.”