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Singer Katy Perry has begun her career-spanning "Lifetimes Tour" where she'll perform hits from across her discography. So far, it has been met with mixed reviews from fans, with some people on social media claiming that Perry is using artificial intelligence (AI) for her tour visuals. Newsweek has reached out to a representative for Perry outside of regular working hours via email for comment.
The Context On Wednesday, Perry embarked on her first tour since 2018. The "Lifetimes Tour" will consist of 84 concerts. Controversy has followed Perry in recent weeks following the 40-year-old pop star joining Jeff Bezos' 11-minute all-female Blue Origin mission into space.
Perry bore a significant amount of criticism for this as many questioned the environmental impact of the flight, while others described it as tone-deaf. The beginning of the "Lifetimes Tour" comes after Perry's comeback record 143 fell flat. Perry is the only artist in history to spend an entire calendar year in the top 10, and had nine number-one singles on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100, putting her among the top female artists in chart history. But 143 had a poor critical reception. Its lead single, "Woman's World" debuted at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 15 and dropped off the following week, and the album itself debuted at Number 6 on the U.S.
Billboard 200 chart. Katy Perry is seen at "The Lifetimes Tour" at CDMX Arena on April 23 in Mexico City. Katy Perry is seen at "The Lifetimes Tour" at CDMX Arena on April 23 in Mexico City.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Katy Perry What To Know As social media users responded to footage and clips from the first night of the tour, many said the visuals used in the tour looked like AI. X, formerly Twitter, user @jacnights13 posted a clip of the concert's visuals and wrote: "like this is literally ai." The post has been viewed 3.4 million times as of reporting.
The clip itself features a montage of a deer in the woods and a series of smiling people in a crowd. In a separate X post, @jacnights13 wrote: "the lifetimes tour visuals being ai is so f***ing disgusting can katy perry do anything right in her life." X user @bklynb4by who also shared a clip of the concert wrote: "the ai visuals… this is a new low."
The post has been viewed 1.2 million times as of reporting. the ai visuals… this is a new low pic.twitter.com/4g4kaiz9Gt — Brooklyn (@bklynb4by) April 24, 2025 While user @rwylmo wrote: "She needs to cancel this tour before it cancels her career I'm so serious." That post has been viewed over 12 million times.
She needs to cancel this tour before it cancels her career I’m so serious pic.twitter.com/BhIOF0sOte — Mo (@rwylmo) April 24, 2025 Though visuals share similarities with AI-generated imagery, it has not been publicly confirmed by Perry her team whether or not the visuals are AI. The tour itself is inspired by sci-fi films and at points feature Perry portraying a video game character. This is something fans of hers have pointed to when defending the singer for potentially using AI in the tour.
X user @rileysinlove_ wrote: "it's for the theme of the tour do you guys even know what your talking about. the song is LITERALLY called ARTIFICAL." User @high_yoursupply added: "The entire concept of the tour revolves around her fighting an AI enemy, with ARTIFICIAL as the opener.
It's intentional, not random. Moreover, there's a huge difference between AI-generated images and videos made entirely by a machine, and hiring a graphic designer to use AI professionally, paying for the result of their skill and artistry." Perry also faced criticism over her song "Woman's World."
The song itself was controversial when it was released, due to the fact that Perry worked with producer Dr. Luke, real name Łukasz Gottwald, on the song who has been accused of sexual misconduct by singer Kesha. He has denied the allegations. X user @youknowigotyou_ wrote: "The fact that Katy Perry has zero female dancers on stage during her performance of 'Woman's World' on her #lifetimestour says a lot about her and the type of feminism she claims to represent."
That post has over 2 million views. While appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast last year, Perry spoke about her decision to work with Dr. Luke, telling Alex Cooper: "But the reality is, it comes from me. 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."
Perry added that she understood "it started a lot of conversations." What People Are Saying Katy Perry during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! speaking about the "Lifetimes Tour": "I'm glad to reconnect around the world and it's been like you know so, so long, and the whole world has changed, the U.S. has changed…I lead with love."
What Happens Next? The "Lifetimes Tour" is set to conclude on December 7, 2025, in Abu Dhabi.
