Katy Perry Opens Up About Depression After Disappointing ‘Witness’ Reception
Katy Perry's coming clean about a test of mental health, and says she was sent into a depression of sorts after negative reception to her latest album, Witness.
In a new interview with Vogue Australia, Perry says she loved her fifth studio album, which included singles "Chained to the Rhythm," "Swish Swish" and "Hey Hey Hey." But, when that love wasn't reciprocated by fans, it put her into a funk.
"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 said.
Perry added that eventually, she chose to recover in a week-long personal treatment program at the Hoffman Institute, where she said she intended to ditch negative behavior that she'd been conditioned to keep.
“For years, my friends would go and come back completely rejuvenated, and I wanted to go, too. I was ready to let go of anything that was holding me back from being my ultimate self," she said. “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.’ 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.”
And now, Perry says she's given herself license to let go of heartache and disappointment.
"The biggest lie that we’ve ever been sold is that we as artists have to stay in pain to create," she said.