Pop princess and certified cat whisperer, Katy Perry, dropped by the Call Her Daddy podcast to talk about the upcoming beats on her new album 143 (you know, like the old pager code for “I love you” because apparently, it’s 1998 again). But, instead of focusing on whether she’s planning another “California Gurls” beach party, the internet had one burning question: “Why are you still working with Dr. Luke?”
For those who missed the last decade because you were busy binge-watching Netflix or living under a rock, Dr. Luke has been embroiled in a legal circus ever since Kesha accused him of being… well, let’s just say, less than a gentleman back in 2014. It was like a courtroom drama, but with fewer law books and more pop stars throwing shade. After 10 years of headline-worthy drama, 2023 finally gave us an ending, and Dr. Luke? Still denying everything like a kid with cookie crumbs on his face.
Back to the Call Her Daddy podcast, Katy Perry, who was basically wearing her “Boss Lady” hat, spoke candidly about her past relationships with people who just couldn’t handle her awesomeness. And frankly, who can blame her? It’s hard to handle a woman whose closet is basically a rainbow of sparkly bodysuits.
But when the Dr. Luke question hit the airwaves, Katy sidestepped it like it was a puddle on the red carpet. Without uttering the producer’s name, she said, “Look, I get it, people love a good gossip sesh. But the truth is, I wrote these bangers myself. I went through my own personal Beyoncé-level metamorphosis. Dr. Luke? He was just one of the dudes holding the pen.” (We imagine she did this with a nonchalant shrug while adjusting her tiara.)
Katy then gave us a sneak peek into Woman’s World, a track where she goes full-on “empowered mom mode.” Now that she’s given birth to an actual human being (and possibly created an alternate universe, who knows), she feels like she’s running the world. She even described making life as “creating another set of organs.” Katy, honey, we didn’t know Roar was that literal!
Of course, we can’t forget the backstory to all this drama. Kesha’s allegations against Dr. Luke blew up faster than a glitter bomb at a Katy Perry concert. Katy even got dragged into the courtroom soap opera at one point, making an appearance in a deposition and popping up in text messages like that one friend who’s always involved in the group chat drama but didn’t even ask to be.
Katy Perry, back in “boss mode,” taking charge, birthing babies and bangers, and reminding us all that, at the end of the day, it’s her name on the Billboard charts. So if Dr. Luke was part of her process, he was just another cog in the glitter-covered pop machine.