Pop star Katy Perry has long made a statement with her music since entering the spotlight in 2008, but the Hollywood heavyweight has more recently found herself at the center of intense controversy.

Over the years, the 40-year-old “Firework” hitmaker’s real estate portfolio has ignited nearly as much frustration as her 11-minute BlueOrigin trip to space alongside Lauren Sanchez, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, Gayle King, and Kerianne Flynn.

From court dates with nuns to several legal battles with the elderly community, Perry’s public trouble over her properties has left her neighbors furious. There is even a proposed new law, the PERRY Act, which was inspired by her dispute with Carl Westcott—the founder of 1-800-FLOWERS—after she bought his property.

According to Earp Cohn P.C., the PERRY Act, “addresses the risks of elder financial abuse, especially as it relates to property and real estate sales and transfers.”

“The Act establishes a 72-hour cool-down period during which either party involved in a contract for conveyance of a personal residence, in which one party is over the age of 75, can rescind the agreement without penalty,” the site adds.

Although the name is a nod to the singer, it also stands for Protecting Elder Realty for Retirement Years Act.

The PERRY act never went through any legislative process and was majorly supported by one of the opponents in her real estate battles.

However, it did gain bipartisan support, and a website created by the act’s supporters in 2023 included the names of representatives and senators from New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, California, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Wyoming.

Although the site is now inactive and has been for the past year, a petition created in 2023 remains on Change.org with 371 verified signatures.

In the past few weeks, Perry’s real estate disasters have come back to haunt her after she admitted that she felt “bruised” from hate following her trip to space.

Now, newfeedidol.com has lifted the lid on Perry’s nightmare property mishaps.

Perry most recently sparked public upset when she filed to sue the 85-year-old kicked out of her $15 million Montecito, CA, mansion for $6 million in “lost rental value” and alleged “damage.”

The suit prompted his family to brand the songstress “entitled” and “unforgivable.”

Perry engaged in a bitter real estate battle with Carl Westcott back in 2020, when she struck a deal to buy his Montecito home for $15 million. However, Westcott backed out days later, claiming that he had been under the influence of painkillers when he signed on the dotted line.

“The combination of his age, frailty from his back condition and recent surgery, and the opiates he was taking several times a day rendered Mr. Westcott of unsound mind,” Westcott’s lawyers stated in court documents.

However, Perry’s representatives argued that the business mogul had been of sound mind when he agreed to the deal and that he only wanted to back out because he hadn’t been able to find an alternative Montecito property to his liking or budget.

The legal battle was finally resolved in December 2023, when a judge ruled in Perry’s favor and ordered that the original sale contract—which was arranged via the pop star’s business manager, Bernie Gudvi—should be upheld.

Perry officially took possession of the home in May 2024. The sprawling, 1930s-era, 9,285-square-foot compound sits amongst the Santa Ynez foothills and has eight bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms, a tennis court, two guesthouses, and a pool.

While the ownership of the property has been cemented in court, the “Dark Horse” singer is now seeking up to $6 million in damages from Westcott—a move that has been slammed by his family, who have accused her of having “zero empathy.”

In an interview with The Sun, Westcott’s son, Chart, 39, slammed Perry’s “entitled celebrity behavior,” questioning why someone with her wealth and status would insist upon pursuing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against a man who has been “bedridden for well over 18 months.”

“If an old man apologizes and says he made a mistake [about the house sale], and she’s a rich pop star who can buy any other house in the world, you’d think she would let the old man go on his way,” he said.

“It’s entitled celebrity behavior. She has no sense of fair play, no empathy, zero empathy, quite the opposite.

“The worse the condition my father is in, the harsher they’ve been in trial; it’s unfortunate to see the way her lawyers have conducted themselves, bottom of the barrel in terms of ethics.”

He went on to allege that there is “no other explanation” for her decision “other than greed,” before slamming Perry—and her husband, Orlando Bloom—as “unforgivable.”

Perry has thus far paid $9 million for the $15 million estate and wants $6 million knocked off the price for various interior and exterior damages, repairs, and lost rental income since the time of the real estate deal.

She reportedly hired a team of 25 experts to look for faults in the home.

Westcott’s family is disputing the pop star’s claims—and Perry will now need to appear in a Los Angeles to testify in person, while a subpoena motion has been put before the court seeking to force Bloom to also appear during the trial.

Perry’s manager has accused the family of “harassing Bloom,” claiming that they are attempting to turn the trial “into a media circus” by asking a judge to force the actor to appear in court.

Westcott had only owned the home for a matter of months when he agreed to sell the property to Perry’s manager—having purchased it in May 2020 for $11.25 million.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Perry outbid Maria Shriver in order to secure the home; however, it is unclear whether she had planned to use the mansion as a primary residence for her family, which includes her daughter, Daisy Dove, who she shares with Bloom.

After Westcott attempted to back out of the deal, Perry purchased a second Montecito home for $14.2 million, and she is still understood to own that property.

Legal battle with nuns

In 2015, Perry’s legal battle with nuns began and lasted several years.In 2015, Perry’s legal battle with nuns began and lasted several years.

Perry sued members of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary after she attempted to snap up their former convent in Los Angeles.

The nuns purchased the property from Daniel Donohue in 1972, according to the New York Times.

In 2011, the sisters were forced by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to relocate.

Four years later, without consulting any of the nuns, Archbishop Jose Gomez agreed to hand off the property to the singer, who was raised religious. Perry offered Gomez $14.5 million in cash, which he accepted.

After discovering that the Hollywood star wanted to purchase their former convent, the nuns looked into her background and were appalled with her behavior—specifically during her past performances.

To change their perception, Perry agreed to meet with two of the nuns and reportedly sang “Oh Happy Day” before showing off her “Jesus” tattoo.

However, Perry failed to impress them, and they opted to sell the property to developer Dana Hollister.

Perry then sued the nuns for offloading the land to Hollister after her offer was already accepted, with the archdiocese backing the singer and noting that the nuns did not have the right to sell the 30,000-square-foot living area.

A judge ruled in the singer’s favor and dismissed Hollister’s sale, giving Perry the right to purchase it—even though Hollister was already living there.

However, because the church property was over $7.5 million, Perry needed approval from the Vatican, who refused to grant her the property until she found a replacement for its House of Prayer.

In 2017, a jury found Hollister guilty of malice and fraud and claimed she intentionally tried to halt Perry’s purchase. Hollister was ordered to pay the archdiocese $3.47 million in attorney fees and Perry’s company $1.57 million. Shortly after, she declared bankruptcy.

The following year, during a court date about Perry’s approval to purchase the convent, a nun collapsed and died at the age of 89.

The drama came to an end when Perry did not follow through with the sale of the convent.

Kelsi Karruli is a senior celebrity reporter who joined Realtor.com in 2025. She writes about trends encompassing real estate and celebrity properties. She previously wrote for Daily Mail, True Urban Culture, and JMedia Corporation, where she specialized in covering celebrities, relationships, psychology, and gender issues. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Pace University, where she received the James Rose Award for excellence in journalism. When she isn’t updating readers on A-listers’ moves, she is spending time with her cat, Mary, and cheering on the Albanian soccer team.