Katy Perry Gets Herself Into Another Easily-Avoidable Crisis

Typically, very little would be more insipid than a music video that plays like a chronicle of a presumably single, childless woman’s debauched vacation for a song that’s actually *checks notes* in tribute to the artist’s toddler daughter. But because that artist is Katy Perry, there’s plenty more nonsense where that came from!

On Tuesday, the Dr. Luke apologist once again found herself in the headlines after Spanish authorities released a statement claiming that her music video for her latest single, “Lifetimes,” was allegedly filmed in a protected area of the Balearic Islands without a necessary permit. Swaths of the video, which first premiered on August 8, show Perry lip-syncing and dancing on the protected sand dunes of S’Espalmador—some of the most ecologically sensitive enclaves on the islands.

According to authorities, a preliminary investigation of any potential damage done to the dunes—which, according to the Mallorca Daily Bulletin, are roped off—is currently underway. Because filming and photography on the dunes can be authorized upon request, Perry and co. aren’t at risk of prosecution for a “crime against the environment.” The probe is due to the fact that they simply needed to obtain permission to film there per government statutes. So basically, this latest round of bad PR for her forthcoming album wouldn’t have happened if her camp had only asked…

Meanwhile, a label spokesperson told TODAY.com that they had been assured all permits had been obtained: “The local video production company assured us that all necessary permits for the video were secured. We have since learned that one permit was in process, although we were given verbal authority to go ahead. Our local crew on July 22 applied for a permit for this specific location with the Directorate-General For Coasts And Coastline. Our crew received verbal approval on July 26 to proceed with the filming on July 27. We adhered to all regulations associated with filming in this area and have the utmost respect for this location and the officials tasked with protecting it.”

Anyway! The song is supposedly about the “eternal love” Perry feels for her daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom, but the creative direction of the video sort of suggests otherwise. A lone Perry is seen running around on the beach with what appears to be teenagers and twenty-somethings, riding on the back of a motorcycle belonging to a man that is very much not Orlando Bloom, and dancing onstage at one of the Spanish islands’ nightclubs. If anything, the message seems like an advertisement for birth control…which would be interesting given she’s vocally endorsed a pro-lifer. So, I guess the message is to get some nannies who you can just offload your child onto when you need a holiday.

Another win for girlboss feminism!