Katy Perry, who has been embroiled in controversy since releasing her single "Woman's World," is now facing criticism over an ill-received social media post about soccer and continues to lose significant numbers of social media followers.
The pop singer has been in hot water for collaborating with Lukasz Gottwald, the music producer known as Dr. Luke, to create the track, which she released a snippet of on June 17. Gottwald was accused of rape and emotional abuse by the singer Kesha in 2014. He denied the allegations and filed a defamation lawsuit against her, which they eventually settled out of court in June 2023.
Since Kesha went public with her allegations, many musicians have come under fire for continuing to work with the producer. Gottwald previously worked with Perry on many of her songs, including her hits "I Kissed a Girl" and "California Gurls." His involvement in "Woman's World" has cast a shadow over the song, which Perry has said is meant to celebrate girl power.
On July 14, amid the backlash over "Woman's World," Perry took to social media to celebrate the final of the UEFA European Football Championship—a soccer tournament in Europe known informally as the Euros—and share her support for the English national team.
"FOOTBALL IS COMING HOME," Perry wrote on X, formerly Twitter, alongside an emoji of the U.K. flag. At the time of writing, the post had been viewed 69.1 million times.
Social media users were quick to point out that Perry—who is American and engaged to English actor Orlando Bloom, with whom she shares a child—had used the U.K. flag rather than England's flag, which has a red cross on a white background. One user wrote: "That's the wrong flag Katy. Not everyone in the UK will be supporting England."
Tristan Tate—who is facing multiple criminal charges in Romania alongside his brother, Andrew Tate—wrote: "It already came home, you're forgetting the women's team. Don't be sexist."
Social Blade, a social media analytics website, shows that Perry has lost more than 350,000 followers across Instagram and X in the past month. On X, she has lost 36,606 followers. On Instagram, the singer has lost 314,580 followers—including 40,847 on July 13 and a combined 44,249 since Sunday.
While the negative reaction to "Woman's World" or her soccer post might explain why Perry has seen such a large drop in followers, there may also be other explanations, such as a clearing-out of bots and fake accounts.
Newsweek contacted a spokesperson for Perry for comment via email.
Earlier this year, Perry announced her departure from American Idol, where she appeared as a judge for seven years. Her replacement has yet to be announced.
"I love Idol so much. It's connected me with the heart of America," the singer said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in February after announcing she was leaving the reality singing competition. "But I feel like I need to go out to feel that pulse of my own beat."
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