Katy Perry has made her much-anticipated return to the music scene with her newest single, “Woman’s World.” But what was supposed to be a fun comeback for the “Fireworks” singer, she was instead met with mixed reactions from her fans and critics alike.
In case you missed it: after three years since she released new music, Perry surprised her fans when she recently dropped her track, “Woman’s World,” the first single from her upcoming album, “143,” which is set to be released on September 20, 2024.
The track was accompanied by a music video, featuring visuals that pay homage to Rosie the Riveter, a known cultural icon in the United States who became a symbol for women in the workforce and women’s independence.
According to the former American Idol judge, Perry described how her experiences as a new mother had been an inspiration to her latest song and that “Woman’s World” is supposed to be a celebration of their contributions to the world.
“[Women] create life, they carry life. They do it with beauty, they do it with grace. They are not one thing. They are soft, they are strong, they are chaos, they are cool. They’re all the things, and they contribute to the world,” Perry said in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “I feel so celebrated in my life, and I hope that other women feel celebrated when they hear this [Woman’s World], and that everybody connects to the feminine part inside them.”
Perry also added that she wanted her fans to think of “Woman’s World” as an empowering song, much like her previous songs such as 2010’s “Fireworks” and 2013’s “Roar.”
“They think of these kinds of empowering songs, songs with a message, songs that are like captions on t-shirts […] so I wanted to continue with that,” she explained.
“This is the first contribution I have given since becoming a mother and feeling really connected to my feminine divine, so I wanted to start with that,” she added.
While many Katy Cats showered Perry with praises for her vision for “Woman’s World” is clear—to be an empowering feminist anthem, her song, however, drew a lot of criticism from her fans and critics alike.
One of the things the song was widely criticized for is due to Perry’s collaboration with Dr. Luke.
Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, was previously involved in a legal dispute with American singer and rapper Kesha in 2014 after accusing him of sexual assault and abuse. According to the “Tik Tok” singer, Dr. Luke, who had been Kesha’s producer, had repeatedly drugged her and sexually assaulted her. The singer also accused Dr. Luke of emotional abuse, which caused her eating disorder.
In response, the producer has denied all of Kesha’s allegations and filed a defamation lawsuit against her.
Kesha’s suit was dismissed in 2016, ruling that the “statute of limitations had expired,” according to reports.
In 2020, Dr. Luke won a civil case against her after a judge ruled that Kesha had defamed the producer and that she had breached her contract with KMI, Dr. Luke’s record label.
Kesha and Dr. Luke then reached a settlement in 2023 before the case was to go to trial.
Going back to Perry and Dr. Luke’s collaborations, Perry’s fans have expressed their disappointment with Dr. Luke’s involvement in her upcoming album.
https://twitter.com/whoadrehman/status/1814371094293352505?t=iFIW-I2lVCREcx-yfdRmOw&s=19
Katy Perry could've had one of the greatest pop comebacks of all time, but she ruined it for herself by working with Dr. Luke…. Rushing out another single produced by him won't help, girl! pic.twitter.com/60bicVPlcG
— DPP (@davegoldhahn) July 19, 2024
Why is Katy Perry's voluntary partnership with producer Dr. Luke for her comeback insensitive and problematic? An important thread with evidence on his abusive behavior: pic.twitter.com/W77q1NOCaL
— Sean🦋 (@SSNsuxx) July 9, 2024
I was so excited for this at first but when I actually listened to this song, I was like Mehh . She should have made a better song with better lyrics since she has gone for many years but turns out it was disappointing for many fans.
— 𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐊-𝐙𝐘(𝐈𝐓𝐙𝐘)𝐁𝐚𝐞 (@PinkZyBae) July 14, 2024
Calling it “woman’s world” while working with Dr Luke and mocking a rape victim is beyond ironic and has to be an outrage marketing tactic. Cuz who tf talks about Katy Perry post 2014????? https://t.co/sr5sAfpwym
— char 🇮🇲 (@char_laughfish) July 9, 2024
This is absolutely insane. Dr Luke is absolutely rapist and abuser. No amount of stan culture can change this reality. ##WomansWorld #KatyPerry #Kesha pic.twitter.com/d1DWIN9251
— 🍉dorothea or peter or cassandra or robin 🏹🐍 (@waytogorobin) July 15, 2024
The entire upcoming Katy Perry album is produced by Dr. Luke.
Shame on YOU Katy. https://t.co/xsKQhdkB2P
— Faty Pedorry (@xoxohixoxo123) July 21, 2024
Can't she just scrap the whole thing and work with another producer!! This is embarrassing
— whatever (@whateverhoe03) July 19, 2024
katy perry's next single is ft chris brown AND produced by dr luke…? and then she wonders why she's flopping
— 𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖊 ☆ (@estusreputation) July 20, 2024
katy perry is intentionally setting herself up for failure because her album is produced by an abuser where she knew that collabing with him would face immense backlash. then woman's world (her 400th song about female empowerment) is written by chatgpt, with the video starring…
— jam ➵ (@jdkaknak) July 11, 2024
Some people also expressed their outrage at the music video, with others pointing out the irony of the song’s lyrics and how the music video used sexualized imagery that seemed to be appealing to the male gaze.
No disrespect but it feels like what a stereotypical woman thinks a stereotypical man would do.
Nothing in this video empowers either sex. In fact, it’s giving mainstream propaganda.
If you want to see a real construction woman at work, building up her community IRL, pls see…
— ✨Visurant.nft✨ (@vizurantvis) July 12, 2024
It has nothing to do with empowering women.
— @RoseInWanderland (@RoseInWanderla1) July 12, 2024
Katy Perry collabs with Trisha Paytas on Woman's World
Ironic since Trisha makes 𝗙𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗘 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗦 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗔/𝗚𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 regularly on her new Just Trish podcast, as she did on Frenemies (21+ claims)
Trisha jeopardises the credibility of all victims of SA pic.twitter.com/9wJnVPKbMw
— nano09977 (@nano09977) July 13, 2024
After days of releasing “Woman’s World,” Perry appeared to respond to the public’s reception of her latest single by uploading a video with a caption that read: “You can do anything! Even satire!”
In the video, Perry explained the creative intention for the accompanying music video.
View this post on Instagram
“We’re kind of just having fun, being a bit sarcastic with it,” the multi-award-winning singer said. “It’s very slapstick and very on the nose, and with this set, it’s like ‘Ooh, we’re not about the male gaze, but we really are about the male gaze.’”
The singer went on to explain how the song and the music video embodied her idea of the feminine divine.
“And we’re really overplaying it and on the nose, because we’re about to get smashed, which is like a reset—a reset for me and a reset for my idea of feminine divine, and it’s a whole different world we go to after this,” she added.
“We wanted to open this video making it look like a super high-gloss pop star video, and that’s what it is,” Perry continued.
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