Katy Perry has responded to criticism of the music video for her new single ‘Woman’s World’, saying it was intended to be “satire”.
READ MORE: Katy Perry – ‘Smile’ review: pop icon sounds somewhat recharged, but lacks the fireworks of old
The pop star shared the video on Thursday (July 11), after having teased it for several weeks. It sees Perry on a mission to empower women around the world: “Sexy, confident / So intelligent / She is heaven-sent / So soft, so strong / She’s a winner, champion / Superhuman, number one / She’s a sister, she’s a mother“, she sings.
The video finds Perry and a collection of other women carrying out tasks normally associated with masculinity, from construction work (while cosplaying as Rosie the Riveter) to driving monster trucks.
Many found the video to be catering to the male gaze rather than overcoming it. But in a new social media post that appears to have been made during the making of the video, she makes clear that it was intended to satirise the subject of gender norms.
“You can do anything! Even satire!” she wrote on X, alongside a video clip that opens with her loudly proclaiming, “Girlboss shit! You can do it, you go girl!”
YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! EVEN SATIRE! pic.twitter.com/aHFTqcvCVm
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 13, 2024
Perry then breaks out of character and begins to explain her intentions with the track. “We’re kind of just having fun, being a bit sarcastic with it. It’s very slapstick and very on the nose.”
“And with this set, it’s like, ‘Oooh, 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 for me, and a reset for my idea of feminine divine, and it’s a whole different world we go to after this.”
“We wanted to open this video making it look like a super high gloss pop star video, and that’s what it is,” she concluded.
The ‘California Girls’ singer took to her official social media accounts to share the title of her new album earlier this week as well as the cover art, which sees her floating in the middle of a pink and blue whirlwind. ‘143’ is set for release on September 20 and is available for pre-sale / pre-order here.
Speaking about the album this week, she described it as a “dance party” to which “everyone’s invited”.
“It’s called 143. It’s my angel number. It’s my symbol, it’s my sign,” she explained. “A couple years ago, we were going through a little bit of a hard time medically in our family, and it was a little bit scary, and I started seeing 143 in many different ways, not just on the phone.”
She began teasing her new era in May by changing her profile picture and hinted at her return to music by teasing “one of [her] biggest songs that has yet to come out” whilst speaking at an American Idol event.
Last December, it was reported that the pop star was gearing up to release her “most personal” material yet in 2024. It was said at the time that plans for a world tour were also underway.
2020’s ‘Smile’ is Perry’s last studio album, serving as her fifth record. NME reviewed the album at the time, giving it two stars and writing: “It’s frustrating, as this is the woman behind some of the most fun – and biggest-selling – songs of all time. But as much as you want ‘Smile’ to be a return to form, her fifth album’s songs fail to grip. All in all, ‘Smile’ lacks the fireworks of Perry’s record-breaking years.”
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