Decoding the Controversy: Katy Perry’s Latest Single Sparks Debate
Katy Perry is back with her newest Album lead single and not to the greatest fanfare, unfortunately. Katy Perry’s
Katy Perry is back with her newest Album lead single and not to the greatest fanfare, unfortunately.
Katy Perry’s Latest Release
Katy Perry released her newest single, “Woman’s World,” on 11th July 2024. The song is a part of her sixth album, 143, which is produced by infamous American record producer Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Stargate.
Some reviews suggested that the song was a dated attempt at writing a feminist anthem.
Fan Criticisms and Controversies
According to fans, there’s a lot wrong with the music video of the song. The video, being targeted to the female audience, instead caters to the “male gaze” with its inappropriate visuals.
And, there’s not only that, but many things wrong with the song. Another controversy arises from the fact that Dr. Luke, the producer of the album, has been accused of sexual assault by American singer-songwriter, Kesha, and very recently settled the case.
In response to the news of Perry working with Dr. Luke, Kesha commented, “lol,” leaving her fans confused and trying to figure out what that meant. Apparently, during the case, Perry denied a claim that she was also assaulted by Dr. Luke, which, if Kesha is believed, would put the Dark Horse singer into a bad light.
Since the album, Woman’s World, is supposedly women-empowerment-centric, having a known, accused “r*pist” being a part of it doesn’t make any sense.
Fan Reactions
Following the release on July 11th, one of her fans, regarding the involvement of Dr. Luke in the album, commented on the singer’s post:
“Written by 3 male writers. Produced by 4 male producers. One of them is Dr Luke. Yeah it’s a Woman’s World.”
A fan supporting Kesha—and really, all women out there—wrote:
“Working with Dr L*** is truly disrespectful to Kesha and every woman in the world.”
A fan on X, under the music video teaser wrote:
“It’s a woman’s world… but this definitely is content for men.”
Katy Perry Responds
In anticipation of the hate the music video has been getting, the 13-time Grammy-nominated singer explained that the video was meant to be sarcastic and a satire. She posted an Instagram behind-the-scenes reel explaining the video:
“YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! EVEN SATIRE!” Perry captioned the Instagram post.
In the video, she makes clear the fact,
“We’re having fun, being sarcastic with it, it’s very slapstick and very on the nose.”
Cultural References in the Video
The “We Can Do It!”-themed segment of the song, as shown in the above explanation reel, is based on popular 1940s advertisement, “We Can do it” by Naomi Parker Fraley.
Reminds you of something, doesn’t it? This advertisement was published during World War 2 encouraging and empowering more women to apply for the war. It also encouraged the women left behind to stay strong.
The advertisement was one of the early movements made for woman empowerment in America. And now, Katy Perry’s song has alluded to the popular advertisement, and the video doesn’t exactly look good for the legacy left behind by the beloved advertisement.
A fan, while referring to the women being scantily clad in the video, wrote on Katy’s post:
“We are not just our bodies.”
Katy Perry’s Comeback
“Woman’s World” marks the singer’s first proper release since 2020’s Smile, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200.
The album titled, “143,” meaning “I Love You,” arrives on September 20.
