As Katy Perry looks to make her comeback with her sixth studio album, 143, the pop star appeared on the September 4 episode of Call her daddy (CHD) where she spoke candidly about her fiancé Orlando Bloom, the controversy surrounding her collaboration with Dr. Luke and more.
It’s been a bumpy rollout for this Perry era, as her lead single, “Woman’s World,” dropped with a bang in July. The “Roar” singer’s second single, “Lifetimes,” has had its own drama. Here’s what the 39-year-old had to say during Wednesday’s highly anticipated chat.
Perry Dodges Details About Dr. Luke
Perry teamed up with the hitmaker (real name Lukasz Gottwald) for 143. Some online were outraged that she chose to work with him again after Kesha’s allegations that he had drugged and sexually assaulted her. Dr. Luke strongly denied her allegations and sued her for defamation. (They settled out of court.) CHD host Alex Cooper asked Perry why she chose to involve the producer in the new album.
“I understand that that sparked a lot of conversation, and he was one of many collaborators that I worked with. But the reality is that it came from me,” Perry responded. “The truth is that I wrote these songs from my experience of my entire life of going through this metamorphosis, and he was one of the people that helped facilitate all of that. One of the writers, one of the producers. I’m speaking from my own experience.”
Perry previously collaborated with Dr. Luke on some of her biggest hits, including “Teenage Dream,” “California Gurls” and “I Kissed a Girl.” He co-produced and co-wrote her most recent singles, “Woman’s World” and “Lifetimes.”
“When I talk about ‘Woman’s World,’ I’m talking about how I feel so powerful right now, as a mother, as a woman, giving birth, creating life, creating a new set of organs,” she added. “I’m still a matriarch and I feel really grounded in that, that’s what I speak from. So I created all of this with different collaborators, people that I’ve worked with in the past, from the ‘Teenage Dream’ era. All of that.”
Perry didn’t directly address the Dr. Luke allegations on the podcast. However, she’s aware of the situation, as the “Roar” singer was dragged into his and Kesha’s legal battle years ago. Kesha alleged that the producer also abused Perry, something the latter denied under oath.
NSFW confession
Bloom is probably keeping the house terribly neat. Explaining that her love language is “acts of service,” Perry said she finds it attractive when a romantic partner helps “around the house.”
“Share the load or help lighten the load,” she explained. “The burden can be so heavy for women, and there are so many invisible things that we do, and it’s literally about sharing that burden.”
Perry continued, “When I come downstairs and the kitchen is clean, and you’ve done everything, and you’ve washed all the dishes, and you’ve closed all the pantry doors, you better be ready to get your cock sucked.”
The singer admitted that they do have cleaning work during the week, but not on the weekends, and she appreciates Bloom doing her part.
“Literally. That’s my love language. I don’t need a red Ferrari! I can buy a red Ferrari. Just do the f***ing dishes! I’ll suck your dick! It’s that easy,” she concluded.
About her and Bloom’s break – and why they work
The stars started dating in 2016 and eventually took a year-long break — which was “really tough,” according to Perry — before reconciling and getting engaged.
“We weren’t really in it from day one,” she explained. “He was, because he had just been celibate for a long time and he had intentions. I had just gotten out of a relationship … but I really had to put in a lot of work.”
The two went separately to the Hoffman Institute in California, a weeklong transformative retreat. (“It helps you change all the bad habits and reprogram your neural pathways through different physical activities,” she explained.) Bloom signed up first.
“He went over there and he wasn’t playing that cat-and-mouse game anymore,” Perry recalled. “And I thought, ‘This is boring. I’m moving on.’ I was so used to this push-pull. Because once you get it. I was playing games.”
The couple broke up, but got back together after Perry’s experience. “It saved my life. Without it, I would be dead. Without that process — and meditation — I wouldn’t be on this planet,” she said.
Bloom and Perry now have a 4-year-old daughter, Daisy.
“I showed him the worst of me,” Perry said at one point, noting that she went through one of the most difficult periods of her life in 2018 following her album Witness flopped. “I was like, ‘Here’s the next test. I’m going to show you the craziest bitch you’ve ever seen,’ and he said, ‘I’m not shocked.’ And I said, ‘You’re my baby daddy.’ If you’re not shocked by this, then let’s do it.”
Perry praised Bloom for being her “anchor” when she was breaking down.
“I’m usually just alpha, alpha, you know? I’m like testosterone, testosterone. ‘I’ve got this, I don’t need help.’ But actually, I do need help. I do need a partner,” she said before bursting into tears. “I went on a guided trip the other day. And as strong as I am, I was like, ‘No, I need it. I need it. I do have needs.’ And sometimes I do need help. It was a beautiful revelation.”
‘Witness’ aftermath
Perry talked about the dark period she entered after her fourth album, which wasn’t nearly as commercially successful as her previous hits. (Remember her “purposeful pop” era?)
“It was the universe’s way of saying, ‘You preach a very strong message of self-love. Let’s see, baby,’” Perry said.
“Before we had success it was like, Am I enough? I’m gonna show you. Proof proof proof. I was right! I was f***ing right, let’s go! And then it shifts and it changes and it settles for everybody — there may be a few who don’t — but it settles and it holds because life is all about ups and downs… the light can’t exist without the darkness.”
