Katy Perry has insisted that a controversial scene in her ‘Woman’s World’ music video is supposed to be “slapstick” and “sarcastic”.
The 39-year-old singer returned to music with her new track earlier this week, but faced criticism for the sexualized nature of the video, particularly a moment where she and her dancers perform sexy choreography on a construction site before she is “smashed” by an anvil and returns in a new outfit.
In a behind-the-scenes video shared on Instagram, Perry said of the moment: “We’re just having fun, being a little sarcastic. It’s very comedic and very direct.”
“With this outfit it’s like, ‘Oooh, we’re not focusing on the male gaze, but we’re really focusing on the male gaze.’ And we’re really going over the top and hitting the nail on the head.”
The former American Idol judge explained that the anvil moment was meant to “reset” her to help her embrace the “idea of the divine feminine.”
Katy Perry has insisted that a controversial scene in her ‘Woman’s World’ music video is supposed to be “slapstick” and “sarcastic”.
A moment in which she and her dancers perform sexy choreography on a construction site before she is “crushed” by an anvil and returns in a new outfit has been criticised.
He added: “We wanted to open this video to look like a super shiny pop star video.”
Woman’s World is the first single from Perry’s upcoming album, 143, which is due out September 20.
The title is code for “I love you,” which was often used in pager messages during the 1990s.
Katy said in a statement: “I set out to create a bold, exuberant and celebratory dance-pop album with the symbolic numerical expression 143 of love as its central message.”
It will be the star’s first album since 2020’s Smile, which failed to repeat the success of her previous records.
The Firework singer previously said the album will be “pure joy and fun.”
She told Access Hollywood: ‘I have yet to make a record where I feel truly happy and fulfilled and full of love.
‘Sometimes artists say, “Oh, that’s boring, you want to make music from a harder place,” but it’s actually very bright and joyful, like pure joy and fun and playful and festive and a party.’
The former American Idol judge explained that the anvil moment was intended as a “reset” to help her embrace the “idea of the divine feminine.”
Woman’s World is the first single from Perry’s upcoming album, 143, which is due out September 20.
Shortly after its release on Friday, Woman’s World was slammed by critics as a “monumental catastrophe” that sounds like a “reheated” Lady Gaga.
It received a particularly harsh review from Pitchfork, which suggested it sounded like Perry had learned about feminism from a basic Google search.
“Defying all sense of taste, the pop singer’s comeback single is too underwhelming to even come close to over-the-top. It’s abysmal,” wrote the outlet’s Shaad D’Souza.
Perry faced criticism for allegedly modeling her song after Lady Gaga’s 2020 hit, Stupid Love, resulting in what some called a lackluster imitation.
She was also heavily criticized for collaborating on Woman’s World with Dr. Luke, the music producer accused of sexual assault by Kesha in a lawsuit that was later dismissed. Dr. Luke has consistently denied the allegations.
(L-R) Producer Dr. Luke, singer Katy Perry and producer Cirkut at the 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards in 2014. Perry has come under fire for working with Luke on her new single.
Pitchfork’s review noted that her decision to work with Dr. Luke on a feminist anthem was “honestly twisted, though not surprising.”
The song also received a scathing review from a Guardian star, who described the song as “warmed-over Gaga” and accused her of blatantly borrowing from Chappell Roan’s single Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl.
‘Woman’s World sounds like it was designed by a committee in a Capitol Records boardroom whose sole purpose was to sync with RuPaul’s Drag Race and generate ‘comiste’ comments from white gays living in West Hollywood,’ wrote Alim Kheraj in a scathing review for Dazed.
With “lyrics that actually seem AI-generated,” the song “falls as flat as the bottom of the anvil that crushes Perry midway through the music video,” according to Mary Siroky’s review for Consequence Of Sound.
