Katy Perry is addressing criticism surrounding her controversial collaboration with producer Dr. Luke, whose real name is Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald, on the widely criticized “Woman's World.” The song, released on July 11, 2024, is the first single from her seventh studio album, 143, which is slated for a September 20, 2024, release.
In a new interview with Alex Cooper on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Katy Perry was asked about her decision to work with the controversial producer, who made headlines in the mid-2010s after being involved in a years-long legal battle with Kesha over claims of sexual abuse, for which the two reached a settlement in 2023.
"I understand that it started a lot of conversations," Perry told Cooper after she highlighted that "a lot of people have expressed disappointment" about Dr. Luke's involvement in the album.
“[Dr. Luke] was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with," Perry continued. “But the reality is, it comes from me. The truth is, I wrote these songs from my experience of my whole life going through this metamorphosis. And he was one of the people to help facilitate all that — one of the writers, one of the producers.”
"I am speaking from my own experience," Perry continued. “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! And I did it, and I'm still doing it. I'm still a matriarch and feeling really grounded in that; that's where I'm speaking from. So I created all of this with several different collaborators, people that I've collaborated with from the past, from Teenage Dream era. All of that.”
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Dr. Luke is credited as both a writer and producer on Perry's "Woman's World," the first single off 143. He's also credited as a producer on the album's second single, "Lifetimes," which was released on August 9, 2024.
Perry and Dr. Luke first worked together in 2008 on the songs "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold." He then became one of Perry's go-to collaborators, working on standout tracks like "California Gurls," "Teenage Dream," "Roar," and more. 143 marks the first time the two have worked together since 2013.
Ahead of the release of 143, Perry will be honored with the Video Vanguard Award at the 2024 MTV VMAs, where she is expected to perform “a medley of her hit tracks that will serve as a walk through her career.”
