In an unusual follow-up commentary on a just-released video, Katy Perry dropped a brief clip on Instagram explaining that her new, seemingly female-empowering “Woman’s World” video, which landed to a largely negative reaction after its release Thursday night, was intended to be sarcastic, and suggests that her intent may become clearer in the weeks to come because, “It’s a whole different world we go to after this.”
The clip was roundly slammed after it dropped, in part because of the revealing outfits in a pro-female video (and also in part because the song was co-produced and co-written by Dr. Luke, the hitmaker who was accused of sexual misconduct by his former protégé Kesha; the case was settled with no conviction or admission of guilt on his part, but the association was still not a positive one).
The clip, which was shot on the set of the “We Can Do It!”-themed segment of the video, suggests that Perry anticipated the reaction it received.
It opens with Perry mugging comically and laying on some corny pro-female exhortations: “You can do it! You go girl! You were born to shine!”
She then gestures to the set and dancers around her and says, “We’re having fun, being sarcastic with it, it’s very slapstick and very on the nose…
“With this set, we’re, like, not about the male gaze, but we really are about the male gaze,” she continues, her voice dripping with sarcasm, before mentioning the reaction she apparently expected — although it’s also possible that she’s referring to the more-empowering second half of the “Woman’s World” video.
“We’re really overplaying it, and on the nose because we’re about to get smashed, which is like a reset for me and for my idea of feminine divine,” she concludes, “and it’s a whole different world we go to after this.”
The clip was directed by photographer/director Charlotte Rutherford, aka “Charlie Chops,” whose work shows a long history of feminism and provocative body images. She has previously directed videos for Camila Cabello, PinkPantheress, Don Toliver and others.
Exactly what that “reset” and “different world” will look like, if that was her meaning, remains to be seen. Perry’s first album in four years, “143,” arrives on Sept. 20
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