She was once one of the biggest popstars in the world with her hits I Kissed A Girl, California Girls and Teenage Dreams the soundtrack to the early 2000s.
Selling over 151 million records worldwide, Katy Perry is one of the best-selling artists of all time and has won five American Music Awards, 14 People’s Choice Awards and a Brit.
However more recently the star has been on the downward spiral with her latest music failing to revive her once chart topping career.
In April she hit headlines for all the wrong reasons after she dramatically kissed the ground following her return from space, with one PR expert even suggesting the star could face ‘career extinction’.
Once the furore of her space mission died down, Katy suffered heartbreak in her personal life as she split from her fiancé Orlando Bloom.
Despite her personal turmoil, Katy has soldiered on, performing on her Lifetimes Tour around the world.
Yet on Wednesday it was revealed she is asking for almost $5 million in a lawsuit against the disabled veteran who owned a $15 million Montecito, California home she purchased more than five years ago.
The star bought the home from Carl Westcott in 2020 but within days the businessman who founded 1-800-Flowers tried to back out of the deal claiming he was incapacitated due to painkillers when he signed the paperwork.
His backtracking sparked a legal battle over the sale of the property, with the judge ruling in Katy’s favour.
And now the songstress has asked the court to force Westcott to pay $4,718,698.95 to account for damages she says he caused with extended litigation over the real estate sale.
So as Katy finds herself caught up in legal woes – where did it all go wrong for the star?
Katy Perry’s downward spiral: From a comeback flop and embarrassing ‘mom moves’, to her split from Orlando Bloom and THAT bizarre space mission – as the singer faces legal battle with disabled veteran
In April she dramatically kissed the ground following her return from space, with one PR expert even suggesting the star could face ‘career extinction’
Comeback Flop
The 40-year-old hitmaker’s seventh studio release 143 completely failed to reach the level of success she had hoped, and instead became the lowest scoring album on Metacritic since 2011 when it dropped in September.
At her peak Katy’s 2010 record Teenage Dream sold over 12 million copies, however since then her sales have steadily declined with her 2020 album Smile selling just 1.5 million.
Katy’s attempt at a change of image fell flat on all fronts with audiences who slammed her fashion takes, and heaped criticism on her decision to collaborate with the controversial producer, Dr Luke.
The music producer was accused of sexual assault by Kesha in a lawsuit that was later dismissed. Dr. Luke has consistently denied the allegations.
Backlash over the star’s new ‘era’ began with the albums lead single, Woman’s World.
Despite being billed as an empowering feminist anthem, the track was dismissed as unoriginal, hypocritical and formulaic.
Katy’s waning support was also apparent at the 2024 Jingle Ball when fans began to leave the Madison Square Garden venue early after she took to the stage.
‘Katy’s rollout of her new music, her new album and her upcoming tour haven’t gone the way she has wanted it to go at all,’ a source said.
‘Some have joked that her Lifetimes tour should be called the Lifeless tour.’
They continued: ‘The only thing that she is doing right is starting the tour outside the US, she is getting lots of response and tickets are selling very well, which might be very different once US dates are announced because the charm that she has overseas is not what it is in the states.’
Katy’s seventh studio release 143 completely failed to reach the level of success she had hoped, and became the lowest scoring album on Metacritic since 2011 (pictured in 2024)
Split from Orlando
Katy’s personal life also took a turn this year after she split from her fiancé Orlando Bloom.
While the Hollywood couple never officially tied the knot they had been engaged for six years and share five year old daughter Daisy.
The pair began dating in 2016 after meeting and bonding over a shared love of In-N-Out burger at a Golden Globes party.
They later got engaged three years later on Valentine’s Day 2019, before welcoming Daisy into the world.
But Covid forced them to postpone their nuptials, and as time passed and the singer got swept up in juggling her career and being a new mum the wedding fell to the back burner.
They started to hit a ‘rough patch,’ and with her massive Lifetimes world tour continuing through December, getting married was ‘not on their radar,’ an insider alleged.
Following the news of their split in July, a source told Us Weekly: ‘Katy and Orlando have split but are amicable,’ while also adding that the separation has been ‘not contentious’ thus far.
While the Hollywood couple never officially tied the knot they had been engaged for six years and share five year old daughter Daisy (pictured in March)
‘Katy is of course upset but is relieved to not have to go through another divorce, as that was the worst time in her life.’
The insider further added that the reported breakup had been ‘a long time coming’ and that their relationship had also been ‘tense for months.’
And Katy has since made reference to the break up in her latest music video for her new hit Bandaids.
In the gory video, Katy sings about trying to save a dying relationship as she survives a number of unfortunate accidents, including sticking her hand in a garbage disposal, her shoelace getting caught in an escalator, and a tree log falling off from the truck in front of her and hitting her car.
She then gets her foot caught on the train tracks as an oncoming train speeds toward her, and that’s when she catches sight of a daisy, a touching nod to their daughter.
‘If I had to do it all over again / I would still do it all over again / The love that we made was worth it in the end,’ she sings, as she frees herself from the tracks at the last second.
And Katy has since made reference to the break up in her latest music video for her new hit Bandaids as she sings ‘If I had to do it all over again / I would still do it all over again’
Space Trip
In a move that wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card, Katy Perry headed off to space back in April as she jumped aboard the controversial Blue Origin space flight.
Her 11-minute space mission sparked immense negative reaction, with former fans calling the voyage a PR stunt and labeling the women on the New Shepard rocket ‘space tourists.’
The singer joined Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez, as well as NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and activist Amanda Nguyen, on the all-female spaceship.
Despite their seemingly harmless intentions, the optics of the mission were described as ‘tone deaf’ and ’embarrassing’.
Most notably Katy hit headlines after she dramatically kissed the ground on her return to earth, after holding up a daisy to the sky in tribute to her daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom.
Katy then waxed poetic about feeling ‘super connected to love’, thanked a reporter who called her an astronaut, and declared how their all-female journey ‘has always been about love and belonging’.
‘It’s not about singing my songs. It’s about a collective energy in there. It’s about us. It’s about making space for future women and taking up space and belonging,’ she said in a post-flight interview.
‘And it’s about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it. This is all for the benefit of Earth.’
Following the backlash, it seems Katy herself even experienced second thoughts about her flight with the space exploration company founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos.
An inside source called the criticism unexpected for the former American Idol judge and ‘disheartening’ for the rest of the all-female crew.
‘Katy doesn’t regret going to space. It was life changing. What she does regret is making a public spectacle out of it,’ the insider exclusively revealed to DailyMail.com.
The source admitted that the star now regrets ‘kissing the ground’ after the flight as well as her ‘close-up camera moments’ inside the capsule – where she held a daisy up to the camera, promoted the setlist to her upcoming tour, and sang the lyrics to What A Wonderful World all while suspended in microgravity.
Her brief mission into space was far from a success, as it’s sparked immense backlash, with many branding the whole thing a PR stunt and the women as nothing but ‘space tourists’
Tour mishaps
She’s always been known for putting a show with elaborate costumes and set designs.
And Katy’s Lifetimes tour has been no different with the singer opting for futuristic space inspired outfits and flying around the venues on various contraptions.
However the tour hasn’t been without its mishaps with the singer only narrowly avoiding falling into the crowd on several occasions.
Back in July she was performing in Adelaide in Australia when the floating metal sphere seemingly malfunctioned, leaving her stuck in the air.
After lifting Katy up, the floating orb then tilted and it appeared as though she scrambled to hold on to avoid falling into the crowd.
For several long seconds, the star held onto one of the bars before the crew stopped the lights and music before rushing to help her.
In Sydney she was soaring high above suspended by a crane, when Katy found herself momentarily headfirst towards the crowd as it unexpectedly tilted.
‘Oh dear!’ Katy yelped, drawing gasps from the audience, before swiftly regaining her composure and continuing her electrifying performance.
Back in July she was performing in Adelaide in Australia when the floating metal sphere seemingly malfunctioned, leaving her stuck in the air (the sphere pictured in Mexico in April)
She also suffered a scare during her concert in San Francisco when the mechanical butterfly she was riding through the air suddenly dropped a few feet (pictured in Mexico in April)
She also suffered a scare during her concert in San Francisco when the mechanical butterfly she was riding through the air suddenly dropped a few feet.
Singing to the crowd, Katy struggled to keep her composure as she held on after the unexpected drop.
Fans have also mocked Katy over her ‘mom moves’ as they made fun of her stilted, awkward choreography.
‘Not the mom moves,’ groaned one observer, while another joked: ‘Maybe she should have spent less time in space and more time rehearsing lmao.’
One social media user compared her moves to ‘my cat when she’s cleaning herself,’ another called her a ‘straight up soulless vessel’ and still another marveled that ‘her fans have the audacity to say she’s a better performer than gaga… byeee.’
She also attracted unfavorable comparisons to Taylor Swift, as one X user snorted: ‘Girl wtf is this, even Taylor dances better than this.’
A fan pleaded with Perry to ‘please retire gracefully.. dont do that to yourself,’ while another joked: ‘Are her choreographers third graders that won a contest?’
In Sydney she was soaring high above suspended by a crane, when Katy found herself momentarily headfirst towards the crowd as it unexpectedly tilted
