Katy Perry was accused of “performative feminism” as a result of the speech she gave at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday (September 11). Amid praising women in showbiz, Katy has been at the forefront of controversy for collaborating with alleged abuser Dr. Luke.
The pop star picked up the Video Vanguard award -- MTV's equivalent of a lifetime achievement prize -- after performing a career-spanning medley, including hits Roar, Dark Horse, and Firework, the BBC reported on Thursday (September 12).
Highlights
- Katy Perry won the MTV Video Vanguard award and performed a medley of her hits.
- Katy faced backlash for performative feminism in her VMAs speech due to her collaboration with Dr. Luke.
- Dr. Luke has been accused of sexual assault and abuse by singer Kesha.
- Katy's single 'Woman's World' received criticism for its contradictory message and provocative imagery.
- Critics argue Katy's feminist stance is undermined by working with Dr. Luke.
Following her performance, Katy used her speech to reflect on her path in the music industry and how her career and fans have shaped her, Elle reported on Wednesday.
Actor Orlando Bloom, who is Katy’s fiancé and with whom he shares a daughter, presented the singer with the award before she opened her speech: “Oh my gosh. I did that all on my first day of my period, too. Can you believe it?”
The 39-year-old songstress continued: “Thank you so much to MTV for believing in my weirdness from day one and for helping artists extend their worlds beyond a song.
Katy Perry was accused of “performative feminism”
Image credits: Gotham/Getty Images
“There are so many things that have to align to have a long and successful career as an artist. There are no decade-long accidents.
“So I would like to acknowledge a few people: my team who have been with me for over 20 years, direct management, and my label Capitol Records.”
The I Kissed a Girl hitmaker added: “Trust me, it takes a village of strong people, a lot of healthy discourse, and a lot of group chats. My parents and my family, the deepest roots I know.
“We don’t always agree, but what a lesson that those disagreements can still be full of love.
Image credits: MTV
“Thank you to MySpace, Warped Tour, and all the bygone places where I found a voice, identity, and a community so early on.
“Thank you to the friends that were there when my Jetta was repossessed. My Katy Cats: You stood by me for a lifetime, and the LGBTQ community who I recognize I would not be here without and who show me that you can be both kind and [bleeped out].
“Thank you to Orlando for keeping me grounded, celebrated, and doing the dishes. And lastly for my Daisy, the only flowers I’ll ever need.
“I’m excited when I look around music today, and I see all the amazing young artists who are operating with confidence, agency, vulnerability and authenticity.”
This comes as she gave a speech at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday (September 11)
Image credits: MTV
She concluded: “I’ve heard a lot of ‘Do this, don’t say that, wear less, wear more now. Hey, don’t cut your hair.’
“One of the biggest reasons I’m standing here right now is I learned how to block out all the noise that every single artist in this industry has to constantly fight against, especially women.
“I just wanna say with my whole heart, do whatever it takes to stay true to yourself and true to your art.
“Turn off social media, safeguard your mental health, pause, touch grass. And do what you were born to do just like I was born to do this.”
Image credits: MTV
Despite Katy’s attempt to uplift her female peers in the industry, her speech’s positiveness fell short for certain critics, who accused her of perpetuating performative feminism.
Performative feminism refers to actions or statements that outwardly promote feminist ideals but are primarily done for appearances, social approval, or personal gain rather than a genuine commitment to gender equality.
“Perhaps this would be fine in a vacuum, but it's worth reminding ourselves why Katy has faced so much social media criticism lately,” Natasha Jokić wrote for Buzzfeed on Thursday.
Katy has been at the forefront of controversy for collaborating with alleged abuser Dr. Luke
Image credits: MTV
She further argued: “That would be because she continues to collaborate with producer Dr. Luke, including on her ‘female empowerment’ single Woman's World.
“That would be the same Dr. Luke that has been accused of drugging and raping Kesha (he has denied the allegations).”
The Buzzfeed writer highlighted the singer’s questionable appearance on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast earlier this month, where she seemingly failed to address the backlash ignited by her collaboration with Dr. Luke.
"Look, I understand that it started a lot of conversations,” Katy told Alex in the episode. “He was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with. But the reality is, it comes from me.”
Katy went on to avoid answering Alex’s query about her controversial association with the producer, saying: “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.”
Natasha wrapped up her candid feedback: “Yeah, I'm good without touching grass.”
Dr. Luke was notably accused by the singer Kesha of sexual assault and abuse
Katy’s highly anticipated Woman’s World single from her upcoming album 143 dramatically bombed upon its release with its contentious music video in July.
While some slammed the upbeat anthem as “feminism gone wrong,” others critiqued the songstress’ collaboration with polarizing producer Dr. Luke.
The music video for Woman’s World presumably celebrated female empowerment and resilience, featuring diverse women from various backgrounds and professions, highlighting their strength and unity.
Nevertheless, the two-minute-55-second-long clip also juxtaposed elements of hypersexualization, as the visuals incorporate provocative imagery, such as a close-up of Katy’s cleavage and a group of women dancing in sexy versions of construction workers’ uniforms.
Woman’s World is Katy’s first new music since 2021, and the song was inspired by her experiences as a new mother.
Moreover, it was meant to celebrate the fact that women are “unstoppable,” Today reported on July 15.
The American Music Awards winner reportedly said that the new cheerful hymn was meant to be an empowering anthem that celebrates women and helps everyone embrace their “feminine divine.”
“Sexy, confident / So intelligent / She is heaven-sent / So soft, so strong,” Katy sings in the first verse.
Katy failed to address Dr. Luke controversies on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast earlier this month
Image credits: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
The chorus later repeats the words, “It’s a woman’s world, and you’re lucky to be livin’ in it.”
However, since its release on July 11, Woman’s World has been widely criticized, not just for its dissonance between its lyrics about female empowerment and the use of sexualized imagery but also as a result of Katy’s collaboration with Dr. Luke.
Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald, known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, an American songwriter and record producer, was notably accused by the singer Kesha of sexual assault and abuse.
In October 2014, Kesha filed a bombshell lawsuit against Dr. Luke in California, USA, claiming sexual assault and battery, including an alleged rape that occurred in 2005 at Nicky Hilton’s birthday party, where the producer allegedly gave the Tik Tok hitmaker the date rape drug GHB, as per Vulture.
The lawsuit also accused Luke of long-term emotional and psychological abuse involving fat-shaming.
The 37-year-old singer reportedly claimed that the songwriter’s treatment caused her “severe depression, post-traumatic stress, social isolation, and panic attacks.”
Katy was involved in the aforementioned legal dispute when Kesha claimed Dr. Luke had also abused the Teenage Dream hitmaker, which Katy denied.
Woman’s World was significantly scrutinized by various critiques, with Vulture arguing: “The song is stuck in vague feminist empowerment, which may have worked in 2014 but falls short in 2024.”
In October 2014, Kesha filed a bombshell lawsuit against Dr. Luke
Image credits: Lester Cohen/Getty Images
Vulture’s review further stated: “As a project, the song has empowered more men than women: Perry’s writing team included four men in total, plus Chloe Angelides, a writer published by Luke’s Prescription Songs.”
Meanwhile, The Guardian, which rated the song one star out of five, wrote on the same day: “Not to sound like one of those men (actually I’ll take Perry’s insistence that it’s my goddess-given right as a woman to be essentialist, OK!) but: this garbage has six writers.”
“Granted, it is infernally catchy, but it is the Bic for Her of pop, the pink Yorkie for girls (get your lips around this!), a song that made me feel stupider every sorry time I listened to it.”
It continued: “As well as sounding like reheated [Lady] Gaga, it also sounds brazenly like Chappell Roan’s Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl, a knowing, joyful, absurdist take on songs exactly like this that also pounds with scream-along euphoria.
“Roan – along with Sabrina Carpenter and Charli xcx – is modeling how to be a pop star in 2024: they’re inventive, self-aware, silly, deep, some of the qualities Perry had at the peak of her promise but seems to have lost forever.”
"There's nothing feminist about working with a known abuser," a reader commented
