Katy Perry is not new to controversies, but she is new to getting out of them. The singer has been around for over a decade and mishaps happen, but her recent choice to collaborate with Dr. Luke on her new album, doubtless in hot pursuit of a #1 single, has very serious consequences she fails to acknowledge.
Perry is behind many iconic pop hits: “Roar,” “Firework,” “I Kissed a Girl,” and “California Gurls” to name just a few, and she’s a proven profit-making juggernaut as a pop artist. However, in recent years, Perry’s offerings have failed to reach the numbers and popularity she’d gotten used to, so it seems she decided the best way to recapture the top pop spot is to replicate the brain trust she worked with back in the day.
That is not a bad idea, as she was popular for a reason. However, in reconvening her dream team, Perry sought Dr. Luke’s help, with whom she collaborated on some of her biggest hits. If his name is familiar, it may be because Kesha accused him of physical and emotional abuse. Understandably, Perry received backlash for working with him, especially as the song in question is called “Woman’s World,” and choosing Dr. Luke was the furthest from that.
Katy Perry pulled a Blake Lively and completely ignored the question about Dr. Luke
Last month, Gossip Girl star Blake Lively made headlines for the way she handled her latest film, It Ends With Us. During the press tour, Lively avoided opening up about working with director and co-star Justin Baldoni, and also failed to bring any awareness to the film’s serious theme of domestic violence. Now, Katy Perry is subtly following the same marketing tactic to avoid taking responsibility for working with Dr. Luke again.
Amid allegations that she was forced to work with Dr. Luke, during an appearance on the podcast Call Me Daddy, Perry addressed the situation, kind of, but made it all about her and the fact that she had a baby. Yes, that’s right, and here are the quotes: “Look, I understand that it started a lot of conversations. He was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with. But the reality is, it comes from me.”
The “Teenage Dream” singer continued, “I am speaking from my own experience. When I speak about ‘Woman’s World,’ I speak about feeling so empowered now as a mother, as a woman, giving birth, creating life, creating another set of organs, a brain, a heart — I created a whole ass heart!” She referenced her daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom, whom she shares with Lord of the Rings‘ Orlando Bloom. She called herself “still a matriarch,” and noted that she worked on her new album, 143, with different collaborators, without acknowledging the situation at all.
Obviously, no one was impressed with her lack of accountability. Fans online slammed her for answering the question yet not saying anything, and even noted that she should be a “politician” for how skillfully she deflected the question.
Considering Katy Perry struggled with understanding the term “feminism” for so long, she still avoids being a girl’s girl, and the only one suffering the consequences now is herself.