Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Celebs, Katy Perry, Music
Ilana Frost
It’s a Woman’s World, and Dr. Luke should not be living in it. (That’s how the song goes, right?) Katy Perry is obviously a pop legend, but she’s really pissing me off these days. The “Teenage Dream” singer is attempting a grand comeback with her new single, “Woman’s World,” and her upcoming album, 143. However, I don’t think she’s getting quite the response she hoped for. Why? Well, because the verse of “Woman’s World” she teased sounds like if you told AI to make the most millennial song possible… and also because she chose to work on her new album with fucking Dr. Luke.
As you might be aware, Kesha has made very serious accusations against the producer that resulted in a 10-year court battle. So, why the hell is Katy working with this guy for a women’s empowerment project? Here’s a detailed explanation of the Katy Perry and Dr. Luke controversy.
If you didn’t know, Dr. Luke is very, very canceled. Back in 2014, Kesha sued the producer and accused him of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. He then countersued, claiming she had defamed him, and the court battle went on for nearly a decade. Kesha and Dr. Luke settled his defamation lawsuit just about a year ago now.
“The abuse I suffered from Luke was a decade long, every day, every moment of every day,” Kesha said in 2017 during sworn questioning. Dr. Luke has maintained his innocence and called her claims “completely untrue and deeply hurtful.”
An excellent question. Personally, I find this choice puzzling. It seems like Katy just really wanted a smash hit and didn’t care about how Kesha (or other women) might feel about this collab. According to a source from her label, Capitol Records, “Katy knew exactly the album she wanted to make and put together the team to make it happen.” For her comeback album, she turned to many former collaborators, including Dr. Luke.
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He and Max Martin are behind several of Katy’s hits, including “I Kissed a Girl,” “Last Friday Night,” “California Gurls,” “E.T.,” “The One That Got Away,” “Dark Horse,” and “Roar.” So yeah… basically all of them. But is a guaranteed smash more important than, say, morals? There are plenty of other successful producers out there. Well… there’s at least Jack Antonoff and Dan Nigro. Better yet, how ’bout a female producer for a song called “Woman’s World”?
It is 2024, girl. We need to move on from this man.
Katy hasn’t publicly commented on working with Dr. Luke despite the Kesha allegations. I mean, what could she realistically say that wouldn’t just make it worse? In a TMZ video of the singer making her way through a crowd in Paris, someone asks: “Isn’t your album about women empowerment? Why are you working with Dr. Luke?”
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Although Katy was obviously within earshot, she didn’t say a word.
Hours before Katy announced her collab, Kesha tweeted, “lol.” That seems to be her response. TBH, I would also be rather speechless if I was her.