Katy Perry appears to be responding to criticism over her new “Woman’s World” music video.
On Saturday (July 13), the 39-year-old pop superstar shared a behind-the-scenes clip from the video shoot, explaining her intentions for the seemingly female-empowering visual.
Following its release on Thursday, some reviews suggested the “Woman’s World” video was a dated attempt at writing a feminist anthem. The visual finds Perry dressed as a pin-up girl and working on a construction site before being hit by an anvil. She then appears in a female-led apocalyptic world and causes fun mayhem with her fellow women.
Perhaps adding fuel to the fire, the track was co-produced by Dr. Luke, who was accused of sexual misconduct by Kesha. (In 2023, the singer and hitmaker settled their bitter, nine-year legal battle before it was scheduled to go to trial.)
In her response clip, which seemed to anticipate the forthcoming backlash, the singer is surrounded by dancers on set at the video shoot as she explains her thinking behind the visual.
“We’re kind of just having fun being a bit sarcastic with it, it’s very slapstick, and very on the nose,” Perry says of the first half of the video, which features half-naked dancers, Perry chugging Whiskey, and she and her entourage pretending to relieve themselves in urinals.
“With this set, it’s like, ‘We’re not about the male gaze but we really are about the male gaze,’ and we’re really overplaying it and on the nose because I’m 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.”
Perry concluded her response, stating, “We wanted to open this video making it look like a super high gloss pop star video, and that’s what it is.”
“Woman’s World” marks Perry’s first proper release since 2020’s Smile, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200. The song serves as the lead track to her upcoming, long-awaited dance-pop album, 143, which is code for “I love you.” The project arrives on Sept. 20.
