“On the outside she looked more attractive than ever, but on the inside she seemed more desperate and emotionally drained than ever. This feels similar to the path Madonna has taken.”
Some fans are wondering about Katy Perry's new Women's World This music video seems to be heavily focused on attracting male attention.
The wild video, which was released on Thursday, has divided viewers down the middle: some are delighted with Perry's radical antics, while others feel the video is more about appealing to the male gaze than staying true to the feminist song.
The video starts just under three minutes in, with Perry exuding serious Rosie the Riveter vibes on a construction site. But things take a turn for the worse when she uses the urinal. She pours “ladies' whiskey” over herself and removes her safety jacket to reveal an American flag bikini. There's also a slow-motion close-up of her breasts.
After being smashed like a pancake on an anvil, Perry comes back to life and performs some bikini-clad, ass-fueled sci-fi kicks. Perry steals a woman's phone and ring light, then hops in a helicopter and screams, “I'm Katy Perry!”
Meanwhile, many Katy-cats were cheering along with her: “It's Katy Perry's world. You're lucky to be alive,” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter), while another called the song “song of the year.”
People took to social media confused and questioned whether the video was meant to be a parody, given its over-the-top storyline — after all, “Woman's World” has been touted as an anthem for female empowerment, with lyrics like, “She's a sister/She's a mother/Open your eyes and look around you'll see/It's a woman's world and you're lucky to live in it.”
It's Katy Perry's world, and you're lucky to live in it#Female Superman pic.twitter.com/EDjHr8HWiG
— Sanjana Singh Raghuvanshi (@ohmygodsanjana) July 11, 2024
“The lyrics are laced with weird imagery and current political issues facing women creates cognitive dissonance. Is this supposed to be satire?” one fan commented, while another on YouTube commented, “I thought the first bit before the anvil was satire, then I realised the whole plot was aimed at men. She just added the words 'a woman's world' to pander.”
Another agreed: “This poorly written song and music video is the opposite of female empowerment,” while another commented: “On the outside she has never looked more attractive. On the inside she has never looked more hopeless and emotionally drained. This seems to be the same path Madonna has taken.”
Controversy erupts over song collaboration with Dr. Luke
The song itself has received some backlash this week. Dr. Luke, who was accused of sexual assault and emotional abuse by Kesha in 2014 (and subsequently sued for defamation in 2016), co-wrote and partially produced the track. In response, one X user wrote, “How in the world would you think writing a song about female empowerment with Dr. Luke would be cool!”
Why on earth did you think writing a song about female empowerment with Dr. Luke would be a good idea?
— Dogs, Dogs, More Dogs (@DogsDogsMoreDog) July 12, 2024
The reactions to the song, both good and bad, seem to be working in Perry's favor: the video has already garnered over 8 million views since its initial release. In fact, some are already sensing the potential for a future hit, with one YouTube user writing, “In 5 years, this song will be played in ads for women's razors and it will be a huge hit.”
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