16 July 2024
Marco Gandolfi
Katy Perry has insisted her music video for Woman's World was meant to be "very slapstick" and "satire".
The popstar unveiled the song and accompanying video last week, with the clip opening with her dressed as Rosie the Riveter before later appearing in a white bikini.
Upon release, the video was criticised by music critics for not appearing to have a cohesive feminist message despite the themes of the track, and on Saturday, Katy posted a behind-the-scenes clip on Instagram in which she seemingly predicted some of the negativity.
"We're kind of just having fun being a bit sarcastic with it, it's very slapstick, and very on the nose," the Firework hitmaker said of the opening sequence. "And with this set, it's like, 'Oh, 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, 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."
In the video, Katy "resets" her character by getting "smashed" by an anvil.
"We wanted to open this video making it look like a super high gloss pop star video, and that's what it is," she continued.
Katy captioned the clip, "YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! EVEN SATIRE!"
Woman's World is the lead single from the singer's upcoming seventh studio album, 143. The album is set to drop in September.
During a recent interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Katy promised 143 is an upbeat and fun record.
"I do love the listener, and I want to give them the love that I've received as best as I possibly can and help invite them into this kind of love frequency," the 39-year-old shared.