ActorOrlando Bloom, who is Katy’s fiancé and with whom he shares a daughter, presented the singer with the award before she opened her speech: “Oh my gosh. I did that all on my first day of my period, too. Can you believe it?”
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Katy Perry was accused of “performative feminism”
Image credits:Gotham/Getty Images
“There are so many things that have to align to have a long and successful career as an artist.There are no decade-long accidents.
“So I would like to acknowledge a few people: my team who have been with me for over 20 years, direct management, and my label Capitol Records.”
TheI Kissed a Girlhitmaker added: “Trust me, it takes a village of strong people, a lot of healthy discourse, and a lot of group chats. My parents and myfamily, the deepest roots I know.
“We don’t always agree, but what a lesson that those disagreements can still be full of love.
“Thank you to Orlando for keeping me grounded, celebrated, and doing the dishes. And lastly for my Daisy, the only flowers I’ll ever need.
“I’m excited when I look around music today, and I see all the amazing young artists who are operating with confidence, agency, vulnerability and authenticity.”
She concluded: “I’ve heard a lot of ‘Do this, don’t say that, wear less, wear more now. Hey, don’t cut your hair.’
“One of the biggest reasons I’m standing here right now is I learned how to block out all the noise that every single artist in this industry has to constantly fight against, especiallywomen.
“I just wanna say with my whole heart, do whatever it takes to stay true to yourself and true to your art.
“Turn off social media, safeguard your mental health, pause, touch grass. And do what you were born to do just like I was born to do this.”
Katyfinally reminded the audience that her new album143comes out on September 20.
Despite Katy’s attempt to uplift her female peers in the industry, her speech’s positiveness fell short for certain critics, who accused her of perpetuating performative feminism.
Performative feminism refers to actions or statements that outwardly promote feminist ideals but are primarily done for appearances, social approval, or personal gain rather than a genuine commitment to gender equality.
“Perhaps this would be fine in a vacuum, but it’s worth reminding ourselves why Katy has faced so much social media criticism lately,” Natasha Jokić wrote forBuzzfeedon Thursday.
Katy has been at the forefront of controversy for collaborating with alleged abuser Dr. Luke
She further argued: “That would be because she continues to collaborate with producer Dr. Luke, including on her ‘female empowerment’ singleWoman’s World.
“That would be the same Dr. Luke that has been accused of drugging and raping Kesha (he has denied the allegations).”
“Look, I understand that it started a lot of conversations,” Katy told Alex in the episode. “He was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with. But the reality is, it comes from me.”
Katy went on to avoid answering Alex’s query about her controversial association with the producer, saying: “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.”
Natasha wrapped up her candid feedback: “Yeah, I’m good without touching grass.”
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Katy’s highly anticipatedWoman’s Worldsingle from her upcoming album 143dramatically bombed upon its release with its contentious music video in July.
While some slammed the upbeat anthem as “feminism gone wrong,” others critiqued the songstress’ collaboration with polarizing producer Dr. Luke.
The music videoforWoman’s Worldpresumably celebrated female empowerment and resilience, featuring diverse women from various backgrounds and professions, highlighting their strength and unity.
Nevertheless, the two-minute-55-second-long clip also juxtaposed elements of hypersexualization, as the visuals incorporate provocative imagery, such as a close-up of Katy’s cleavage and a group of women dancing in sexy versions of construction workers’ uniforms.
Moreover, it was meant to celebrate the fact that women are “unstoppable,”Todayreported on July 15.
The American Music Awards winner reportedly said that the new cheerful hymn was meant to be an empowering anthem that celebrates women and helps everyone embrace their “feminine divine.”
“Sexy, confident / So intelligent / She is heaven-sent / So soft, so strong,” Katy sings in the first verse.
Katy failed to address Dr. Luke controversies on Alex Cooper’sCall Her Daddypodcast earlier this month
Image credits:Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
The chorus later repeats the words, “It’s a woman’s world, and you’re lucky to be livin’ in it.”
However, since its release on July 11,Woman’s Worldhas been widely criticized, not just for its dissonance between its lyrics about female empowerment and the use of sexualized imagery but also as a result of Katy’s collaboration with Dr. Luke.
In October 2014, Kesha filed a bombshell lawsuit against Dr. Luke in California,USA, claiming sexual assault and battery, including an alleged rape that occurred in 2005 at Nicky Hilton’s birthday party, where the producer allegedly gave the Tik Tok hitmaker the date rape drug GHB, as perVulture.
The lawsuit also accused Luke of long-term emotional and psychological abuse involving fat-shaming.
The 37-year-old singer reportedly claimed that the songwriter’s treatment caused her “severe depression, post-traumatic stress, social isolation, and panic attacks.”
Katy was involved in the aforementioned legal dispute when Kesha claimed Dr. Luke had also abused theTeenage Dreamhitmaker, which Katy denied.
In October 2014, Kesha filed a bombshell lawsuit against Dr. Luke
Image credits:Lester Cohen/Getty Images
Meanwhile,The Guardian, which rated the song one star out of five, wrote on the same day: “Not to sound like one of those men (actually I’ll take Perry’s insistence that it’s my goddess-given right as a woman to be essentialist, OK!) but: this garbage has six writers.”
“Granted, it is infernally catchy, but it is the Bic for Her of pop, the pink Yorkie for girls (get your lips around this!), a song that made me feel stupider every sorry time I listened to it.”
It continued: “As well as sounding like reheated[Lady] Gaga, it also sounds brazenly like Chappell Roan’s Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl, a knowing, joyful, absurdist take on songs exactly like this that also pounds with scream-along euphoria.
“Roan – along with Sabrina Carpenter and Charli xcx – is modeling how to be a pop star in 2024: they’re inventive, self-aware, silly, deep, some of the qualities Perry had at the peak of her promise but seems to have lost forever.”
“There’s nothing feminist about working with a known abuser,” a reader commented
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