In a new interview, Katy Perry briefly addressed her collaborations with songwriter and producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald on the recent singles “Woman’s World” and “Lifetimes.” The conversation took place with host Alex Cooper on a new episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast. It begins around the 55:56 mark of the episode.
Perry has faced backlash for working with Dr. Luke, who was embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with Kesha after she sued him, in 2014, for sexual assault and more. The producer long denied Kesha’s abuse allegations, and he also filed a defamation lawsuit against Kesha. Kesha’s lawsuit against Dr. Luke was dismissed in 2016, and, while the defamation case lingered for years, the two parties agreed to settle it in 2023.
On Call Her Daddy, Cooper said to Perry, “I know a lot of people have expressed disappointment and were really upset that you decided to involve Dr. Luke on this album.” She then asked, “Why did you choose to work with him?”
Perry responded, “Look, I understand that it started a lot of conversations, and he was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with, but the reality is it comes from me.” She continued, “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. And, I am speaking from my own experience.”
Perry went on: “Like, 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. And I’m still a matriarch and feeling really grounded in that. That’s where I’m speaking from. And, so, I created all of this with several different collaborators, people I’ve collaborated with from the past, from Teenage Dream era, all of that.”
“Woman’s World” and “Lifetimes” appear on Perry’s forthcoming album 143, which is out September 20 via Capitol. It marks Perry’s first studio album since 2020’s Smile.
Katy Perry worked with Dr. Luke on some of her biggest hits, including her breakout single “I Kissed a Girl,” “Hot n Cold,” “Teenage Dream,” “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” “California Gurls,” and “Roar.” She and Dr. Luke last collaborated on her 2013 album Prism, and she did not work with him on 2017’s Witness or Smile, both of which arrived following Kesha’s sexual assault allegations against the producer.
