Katy Perry dodged addressing her ex Russell Brand’s sex scandal in her first social media post since it broke.
The ‘I Kissed a Girl’ singer, 38, was married to Brand from 2010 to 2012 and has not yet publicly addressed allegations from six women the comic, 48, subjected them to offences, ranging from rape and sexual assault to emotional and physical abuse.
Instead, her first update on her Instagram on Tuesday after the allegations against Brand started to unfold on September 16 was a plug for her new line of cowboy boots.
She captioned images of the footwear and her posing in it with the message: “Scootin n booting’”.
Some fans praised her for maintaining a “dignified silence” over the accusations against her ex – which he strongly denies.
A wave of others urged her to speak out – and referenced how she told Vogue in 2013 there was a “real truth” behind the reason their marriage ended, which she was keeping “locked in my safe”.
The singer added in her chat with the magazine: “Let’s just say I haven’t heard from him since he texted me saying he was divorcing me December 31, 2011.
“At first when I met him he wanted an equal, and I think a lot of times strong men do want an equal, but then they get that equal and they’re like, I can’t handle the equalness. He didn’t like the atmosphere of me being the boss on tour. So that was really hurtful, and it was very controlling, which was upsetting.
“I felt a lot of responsibility for it ending, but then I found out the real truth, which I can’t necessarily disclose because I keep it locked in my safe for a rainy day.
“I let go and I was like: This isn’t because of me; this is beyond me. So I have moved on from that.”
Four women accused Brand of rape, sexual assault and physical and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013.
Their claims were part of a media investigation into his treatment of women that was revealed in The Times and by Channel 4’s ‘Dispatches’ show on Saturday.
Brand has also been accused of abuse by two more women.
One made the allegations in a book published in 2014, and the Metropolitan Police said on Monday another alleged victim of the comic’s had claimed she was assaulted by Brand in London’s Soho in 2003.
Brand posted a video on X and YouTube denying all allegations against him before the investigation broke on Saturday in which he insisted all his previous relationships have been “absolutely always consensual”.
