Pop-star Katy Perry sues disabled veteran for $5 million

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Katy Perry is embroiled in some legal fireworks — she’s suing an 86-year-old dying and disabled veteran over a long-standing property dispute.

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The Firework singer is seeking $5 million in a lawsuit against the veteran who owned a $15-million Montecito, Calif., home she purchased more than five years ago, the New York Post reported.

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Perry’s housing fight started in July 2020 when she and her ex, Orlando Bloom, purchased an eight-bedroom estate from Texas millionaire Carl Westcott. According to the Post, in a note to him at the time, the celebrity pair begged him to accept their offer, explaining that they were expecting a baby the following month and believed the home would be the ideal place to raise her.

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Days later, Westcott, a former army serviceman, sought to withdraw from the deal, arguing he lacked the mental capacity to comprehend the contract because he was on pain medication following back surgery.

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Perry countersued

In December 2023, a judge ruled in Perry’s favour and said Westcott offered no convincing evidence that he could not consent to the deal.

Perry’s lawyer said Westcott had a backup offer from Maria Shriver, the former wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Roar hitmaker then countersued for $3.25 million, claiming losses from being unable to lease the property during the court battle, in addition to $2.2 million for alleged repair work to restore the home and another $3 million in legal costs.

At that point, Westcott was bedridden and living with Huntington’s disease, which is a degenerative neurological condition.

Westcott is now in hospice care.

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Poor optics?

The nearly $5 million Perry is seeking is to account for alleged damages she said he caused with extended litigation over the sale of the property.

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“The optics of a millionaire pop star demanding hefty damages from a very ill man are terrible,” U.S.-based PR strategist Abesi Manyando told The Telegraph, per the Post. “This isn’t just a lawsuit, it’s now a David and Goliath narrative — a global superstar with wealth, legal resources and leverage versus an elderly, declining veteran who already lost his home. And that dynamic carries emotional weight.”

In 2018, Perry was involved in a lawsuit with a nun over the sale of a convent in Los Angeles. Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, 89, collapsed and died during a court appearance tied to the case.

Perry is dating former prime minister Justin Trudeau. They were first spotted together in July and were more recently photographed leaving a cabaret show at Crazy Horse Paris, where they celebrated Perry’s 41st birthday.

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