- Katy Perry has found herself in hot water with Spanish authorities this week
- The singer failed to request authorization to shoot her latest music video in a protected part of one of the Balearic Islands
- This is the second time Perry has found herself in a media frenzy thanks to her new album
She was once a pop superstar with a string of top ten hits.
But after the release of her latest music, Katy Perry seems to be hurtling from one disaster to the next.
This week, it was reported that the singer, 39, is under investigation in Spain for the video for her new track, Lifetimes.
Set in the Balearic Islands, the footage sees Perry spending her day at the beach before heading to a club in Ibiza.
But things have gotten hairy for the star, as some of the beach sequences were shot at the dunes of S’Espalmador, on the nearby island of Formentera – a protected area of natural beauty.
After the release of the video on August 8, a spokesperson for the Balearic Islands’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment said that the production company responsible for the video had failed to request “authorization from the Regional Ministry to carry out the filming.”
They added, “That is why preliminary investigation actions have been initiated.”
However, they also clarified that the department sees Perry’s actions as an infringement on the area, as general photography and filming “can be authorized” – so the video has not been filed as “crime against the environment”.
‘It’s so jarringly for the male gaze’
This isn’t the first time Perry has been caught up in a media storm in recent months.
The California Gurls singer came under fire upon the release of the first single from her new album, 143, which will launch on September 20.
Titled Woman’s World, fans criticized the video – which Perry later insisted was “satirical” – and labeled it “cringe”.
“The way in which Katy Perry’s ‘Woman’s World’ video is so jarringly for the male gaze has me feeling some type of way…” wrote one fan on Twitter/X, while another added, “Finally watched the terrible Katy Perry video because I was curious and….in the first third she makes fun of ‘feminism’ that still ultimately caters to the male gaze then in the remaining two thirds she parades around in a thong and a small bra? Do I have that right?
“Quite a compelling cultural artifact, if nothing else, makes you wonder if you’re maybe not getting it on some level, as the only other option is that somehow dozens and dozens of people worked on something that…..doesn’t make any sense.”
The singer was also pulled up for working with Dr Luke on the “feminist” record. The producer was sued by another artist, Kesha, for emotional abuse and sexual assault in 2014.
This week, Kesha announced plans to re-record her 2010 track, TiK ToK, once she acquires the rights to the song.
“The fact that Kesha’s abuser worked on Katy Perry’s new music which is not making profit and now she is re-recording one of the biggest hits he produced which will cost him royalties is so satisfying,” wrote one fan on social media.
