Katy Perry defends Woman’s World video

Katy Perry released her new single, “Woman’s World,” on Thursday, along with a Charlotte Rutherford-directed music video. Following their release, the pop star faced criticism that her women’s empowerment anthem sounded dated and out of touch, and her Rosie the Riveter-inspired video was cartoonish and appealed to the male gaze. Perry responded to the harsh criticisms in an Instagram post, with the caption, “YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! EVEN SATIRE!”

She explains her creative intentions in the behind-the-scenes clip from the video shoot. “We’re kind of just having fun being a bit sarcastic with it, it’s very slapstick, and very on the nose. With this set, it’s like, ‘We’re not about the male gaze but we really are about the male gaze,’ and we’re really overplaying it and on the nose because I’m about to get smashed, which is like a reset, a reset for me, and a reset for my idea of feminine divine, and it’s a whole different world we go to after this.”