Katy Perry has a human ‘punching bag’ for her bad days? Gasp!

When Katy Perry gets quiet, folks had better watch out -- at least if they’re within snapping range.

The pop star just told Harper’s Bazaar what she’s like when she’s having an off day: She can get “quiet.”

“I can snap a little bit, be a little bitchy to the couple of people around me,” Perry told the mag. “Tamra, my assistant, is my closest punching bag.”

Oh, you big meanie, Katy.

“But she’s strong and understands that I have a lot of pressure on me sometimes,” the “Roar” singer said.

The snapping can’t be that awful, as assistant Tamra Natisim has been willing to go to the mat for her boss, at least when abusive paparazzi need to be fended off. Plus Perry has been in therapy and meditates five or six times a week, she told Harper’s, and considers a cigarette every four or six months to be acting out.

“I’ll have a cigarette, which I know is absolutely horrible for me, after a few drinks when I’m having a week off,” she said. “I don’t do black tar heroin.”

Also, this is what it looks like when the “Teenage Dream” singer gets angry, and this is what it looks like when she lashes out.

Not exactly a recipe for disaster.

“Sometimes I feel like a sense of humor does not translate into print,” Perry said -- which is probably something to keep in mind when a simple quote like that “punching bag” line is blown completely out of proportion.

Which pretty much just happened, above.

Imagine if she’d said it on Twitter ...

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