Katy Perry addresses Dr. Luke controversy, career disappointments and more ahead of new album release

As Katy Perry looks to mount her comeback with her sixth studio album, 143, the pop star appeared on the Sept. 4 episode of Call Her Daddy (CHD) where she opened up about fiancé Orlando Bloom, the controversy over working with Dr. Luke and more.

It's been a rocky rollout for this Perry era as her lead single "Woman's World" arrived in July with a thud. The "Roar" songstress' second single "Lifetimes" had its own drama. Here's what the 39-year-old had to say during Wednesday's highly anticipated sit-down.

Perry sidesteps specifics about Dr. Luke

Perry teamed up with the hitmaker (real name Lukasz Gottwald) for 143. Some online were outraged that she chose to work with him again following Kesha's allegations that he drugged and sexually assaulted her. Dr. Luke adamantly denied her allegations and countersued her for defamation. (They settled out of court.) CHD host Alex Cooper asked Perry why she chose to involve the producer on the new album.

"I understand that started a lot of conversations, and he was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with. But the reality is, it comes from me," Perry replied. "The truth is, I wrote these songs from my experience of my whole life going through this metamorphosis, and he was one of the people to help facilitate all that. One of the writers, one of the producers. I am speaking from my own experience."

Perry previously collaborated with Dr. Luke on some of her biggest hits, including "Teenage Dream," "California Gurls" and "I Kissed a Girl." He co-produced and co-wrote her latest singles "Woman's World" and "Lifetimes."

"When I speak about 'Woman's World,' I speak about feeling so empowered now, as a mother, as a woman, giving birth, creating life, creating another set of organs," she added. "I'm still a matriarch and feeling really grounded in that, that's where I'm speaking from. So I created all of this with several different collaborators, people that I've collaborated with from the past, from 'Teenage Dream' era. All of that."

Perry didn't directly address the allegations about Dr. Luke on the podcast. However, she's well aware of the situation as the "Roar" singer was dragged into his and Kesha's legal battle years ago. Kesha claimed the producer also abused Perry, something the latter denied under oath.

NSFW confession

Bloom is probably keeping the house very tidy. While explaining how her love language is "acts of service," Perry said she finds it attractive when a romantic partner helps "around the house."

"Share the load or help the load be lighter," she explained. "The load can be so heavy for women, and there’s so many invisible things that we do, and it's literally about sharing that load."

Perry went on, "If I come downstairs and the kitchen is clean, and you've done it all, and you've done all the dishes, and you've closed all the pantry doors, you better be ready to get your d*** sucked."

The singer admitted that while they have housekeeping during the week, they don't on the weekends so she appreciates when Bloom steps up.

"Literally. That is my love language. I don't need a red Ferrari! I can buy a red Ferrari. Just do the f***ing dishes! I will suck your d***! It's that easy," she concluded.

On her and Bloom's break — and why they work

The stars began dating in 2016 and ultimately then took a yearlong break — which was "really tough," according to Perry — before reconciling and getting engaged.

"We weren’t, like, really in it from day one," she explained. "He was because he had just done a huge time of celibacy and he had set intentions. I was fresh out of a relationship ... but I had to do a lot of real work."

The pair separately went to the Hoffman Institute in California, which is a weeklong transformative retreat. ("It helps you rewire all the bad habits and rewires your neural pathways through different physical activities," she explained.) Bloom enrolled first.

“He went there, and he wasn’t playing that cat-mouse game anymore," Perry recalled. “And I was like, ‘This is boring. I’m moving on.’ I was so used to this push-pull. Because once you have it. I was playing games."

The pair split but got back together after Perry's experience. "It saved my life. I would be dead without it. I would not be on this planet without that process — and meditation," she said.

Bloom and Perry now share 4-year-old daughter, Daisy.

"I showed him the worst of me," Perry said at one point, noting how she went through one of the hardest periods of her life in 2018 after her album Witness flopped. "I was like, 'Here’s the next test. I’m gonna show you the craziest bitch you've ever seen,' and he was like, 'I'm not shook.' And I was like, 'You're my baby daddy.' If you’re not shook by this, then we’re going the distance."

Perry praised Bloom for being her "anchor" when she crumbles.

"I'm usually just alpha, alpha, you know? I'm like testosterone, testosterone. 'I got this, I don't need any help.' But actually, I do need help. I do need a partner," she said before tearing up. "I went on a guided journey the other day. And for as strong as I am, I was like, 'No I do need. I do need. I do have needs.' And I do need help sometimes. It was a beautiful revelation."

'Witness' aftermath

Perry talked about how she entered a dark period after her fourth album, which was not nearly as commercially successful as prior hits. (Remember her "purposeful pop" era?)

"It was the universe's way of saying, 'You preach a really strong message of self-love. Let's see baby,'" Perry said.

"Before success, it was like, Am I enough? I'm going to show you. Proof proof proof. I was right! I was f***ing right, let's go! And then it shifts and it changes and it settles for everyone — there's maybe a couple it doesn't — but it settles and hold on tight because life is all about peaks and valleys... the light cannot exist without the darkness."