Katy Perry is brushing off critics after reconnecting with controversial producer Dr. Luke, a source says she believes is crucial to her successful musical comeback.
The 39-year-old Dark Horse hitmaker stirred controversy last month when it was revealed that Dr. Luke, 50, co-produced her new single Woman’s World – which is being marketed as a feminist anthem – along with other tracks from her upcoming sixth studio album.
But insiders claim that Katy was eager to collaborate with the Grammy-nominated producer – despite his lengthy lawsuit over sexual assault allegations – given their previous chart success with songs like I Kissed A Girl and Teenage Dream.
“She understands it’s controversial to work with Dr Luke again, but they work so well together and have such a good bond that she knows him in a different way to others,” a source told DailyMail.com.
Her relationship with Dr. Luke is important.
Katy Perry shrugs off critics after reconnecting with Dr Luke – sources tell DailyMail.com she believes he’s crucial to ensuring she makes a successful comeback
The 39-year-old Dark Horse hitmaker caused controversy last month when it was revealed that she had collaborated with the music producer on her new music
‘So she doesn’t care that she worked with him again, even though many fans do.
“She’s scared because the music business can be so unpredictable these days. One minute artists come and the next minute they’re gone. But she’s done well before.”
They continued, “Katy is ready to go through fire and she believes in her new album and work. So many people want to see her fail, but she uses it as motivation.
“She can’t wait to support her album and prove everyone wrong. She wants this to be her renaissance.”
Dr. Luke – real name Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald – is responsible for many of Katy’s career-defining hits, including 2008’s I Kissed a Girl, 2010’s Teenage Dream and 2013’s Roar.
The music producer was embroiled in a bitter legal battle with Tick Tock singer Kesha, 37, for nearly a decade, starting in 2014, after she accused him of drugging and raping her in 2005.
She also claimed that Katy was a victim — something she denied. A New York state judge ruled against Kesha in 2020, saying she had defamed her former producer with the claim, and an appeals court upheld that decision in 2021.
Amid the legal wrangling, Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds called on musicians to stop working with Dr. Luke in 2019, and in 2021, Doja Cat stated she would not work with him.
“She understands that she’s causing controversy by working with Dr. Luke again, but they work so well together and they have such a good bond,” an insider told DailyMail.com
The Roar singer has also been shaking up her image in the run-up to her new album, as she enters her ‘new era’ (pictured left in 2023 and on the set of her new music video, right)
The couple eventually reached a settlement in June 2023, just a month before the case was set to go to trial.
Not only has Katy enlisted Dr. Luke to help make her comeback a success, she has also drastically changed her look to fit her ‘new era’.
She announced her new single with a photo of herself in a tiny white bikini bottom, shocking the crowd at the Balenciaga show in Paris last month, where she was photographed topless under a fur coat. Fans accused her of copying Kayne West’s wife Bianca Censori.
“For Katy, who is coming off American Idol, reinventing herself for her new music and is a few years away from motherhood, it’s time to go full throttle with a new twist and her sexy new look,” the insider added.
DailyMail.com has contacted Katy’s representative for comment.
Fans took to social media to condemn her decision to work with Dr. Luke, while others highlighted her apparent hypocrisy.
Kesha, whose full name is Kesha Rose Sebert, also tweeted “lol” following the news.
A few days later, Katy went viral after she appeared to dodge a question about working with the producer.
Last year, Dr. Luke settled a defamation lawsuit with Kesha after she alleged in a 2014 lawsuit that he sexually and physically abused her (2011 photo)
Katy’s new single Woman’s World will be released on July 11th and the music video will be released the following day
The pop star was confronted as she left a fashion week event in Paris, according to footage obtained by TMZ.
As she made her way through the crowd, one fan bluntly asked the star, “Isn’t your album about women’s empowerment? Why are you working with Dr. Luke?”
The fan remained silent as Katy quickly climbed into her chauffeured SUV.
A member of her team tried to close the car door while the fan was talking, but a security guard got in the way.
It’s unclear whether the mother of one deliberately ignored the fan’s question or if it was simply drowned out by the noise of the crowd.
Sources previously claimed that Katy was advised against working with Dr. Luke, but she refused to listen.
“There are so many fans embracing Katy before she’s even released new music because Dr. Luke worked with her on this album,” they told DailyMail.com.
‘She’s trying to promote it in terms of female empowerment, but the collaboration with Dr. Luke screams the opposite.
Kesha, whose full name is Kesha Rose Sebert, tweeted “lol” following the news that Katy and Dr. Luke would be working together again
“She was advised against working with him and was also advised to tone down the sex appeal – but she is turning it up. She doesn’t listen to anyone about how to promote the album, market it, etc.”
The source claimed that Katy’s motivation to release a new album was for “a paycheck” after she retired from American Idol in May and sold her previous albums to Litmus Music for $255 million in 2023.
They continued, “This all comes after she sold her entire catalog for money. This album isn’t about her growing as an artist or her ‘new era’ — it’s about a paycheck now that she’s done with American Idol.”
Katy will release her new single Woman’s World on July 11th and a music video will be released the following day.