Katy Perry is facing a wave of criticism from her fans this week due to circulating rumors that she collaborated with the controversial music producer Dr. Luke. Some eagle–eyed social media users noticed that on the music website Genius, Perry’s upcoming new single was listed as “Woman’s World” with Dr. Luke (real name Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald), 50, noted as a co-producer.
@katyperryWOMAN’S WORLD SONG JULY 11 VIDEO JULY 12 PRE-SAVE + PRE-ORDER GET READY TO POP OFF KATYPERRY.COM♬ Womans World by Katy Perry – Katy Perry
Katy Perry Comes Under Fire For Reportedly Working With Controversial Music Producer Dr. Luke On ‘Woman’s World’
After months of teasing what fans have nicknamed “KP6,” Perry, 39, officially announced the lead single from the album, “Woman’s World,” set to be released on July 11th, and even shared a brief ten-second teaser. This album marks the former American Idol judge’s return to music after a four-year hiatus. It has already ignited a lot of heated discussions on social media.
Just hours after Perry’s announcement, Kesha took to Twitter with a cryptic “lol,” which many interpreted as a jab linked to the swirling rumors. A subsequent Rolling Stone report suggested that Perry had indeed worked with Dr. Luke on her new album.
This connection is especially contentious given that Kesha, 37, accused Dr. Luke, her former long-time producer, of sexual assault and emotional abuse back in 2014. He retaliated with a defamation lawsuit, leading to a prolonged legal battle that only reached a resolution last year.
Across TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter), many of Perry's fans couldn't help but notice the irony in a song that supposedly champions female empowerment being co-produced by someone with accusations of abuse against them.
Meanwhile, others found themselves fixated on the song snippet, sparking a wave of "AI-generated" jokes and likening it to the kind of tunes you'd hear while shopping at a department store or watching "toilet paper" commercials.
Soon after the "Roar" hitmaker shared the snippet of "Woman's World" to TikTok on June 17th, one fan commented beneath her post: "This.... is the comeback?" as another added: "I could make this on garage band." Someone else quipped: "was this written by ai?"
Beneath her similar Instagram post on the same day, another commenter noted: "This song is actually painful to listen to" as one other replied: "This song sounds terrible. Lol we need the summer of 2010 Katy back."
Others expressed their qualms with the Dr. Luke production rumors. "Releasing a woman's empowerment song with an [alleged] ABUSER as the producer is insane and totally tone deaf," someone wrote as another commented: "Good luck with Dr. Puke."
After seven memorable years as a judge on American Idol, Perry revealed back in February that she has decided to hang up her judging hat and dive back into the world of music creation. While fans eagerly await the announcement of her successor on the show, Perry is already hitting the studio and crafting new tunes.
"I love Idol so much, it's connected me with the heart of America," the "California Gurls" artist told host Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live! earlier this year. She went on to say: "But I feel like I need to go out to feel that pulse of my own beat."
