witness

Katy Perry Says She Had ‘Situational Depression’ After Negative Album Reaction

Perry. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The reviews for Katy Perry’s “purposeful pop” album Witness last year weren’t exactly favorable (though not all bad!). She now tells Vogue Australia that she absolutely witnessed the reaction and took it hard. “I have had bouts of situational depression and my heart was broken last year because, unknowingly, I put so much validity in the reaction of the public, and the public didn’t react in the way I had expected to … which broke my heart,” she says. “Music is my first love and I think it was the universe saying: ‘Okay, you speak all of this language about self-love and authenticity, but we are going to put you through another test and take away any kind of validating ‘blankie.’ Then we’ll see how much you do truly love yourself.’” To recover from the negative reaction, Perry says she spent a week at a mental-health retreat in California called the Hoffman Institute, reconnected with her spirituality, and now feels rejuvenated: “That brokenness, plus me opening up to a greater, higher power and reconnecting with divinity, gave me a wholeness I never had. It gave me a new foundation. It’s not just a material foundation: it’s a soul foundation.”

Katy Perry Had Post-Album ‘Situational Depression’