Spanish island investigates Katy Perry video over possible damage to dunes

Katy Perry is under investigation for possible environmental damage of the protected dunes of S’Espalmador after the release of the Ibiza-set music video for her new single Lifetimes.

The environment department of the Balearic Islands issued a press release on Tuesday claiming that the video’s production company did not secure the proper authorization before filming.

The Stillz-directed video for the track, released on 8 August, sees the 39-year-old singer frolicking on the islands of Ibiza and Formentera, sunning on the beach by day and partying at the islands’ famous clubs by night. It includes shots of the dune system of S’Espalmador, one of the most ecologically rich areas of Formentera.

The department clarified that it was looking into potential damage of the prohibited area, which is marked by rope. According to the statement, the filming does not constitute a “crime against the environment” because video or photographic reports “can be authorized” upon request.

S’Espalmador, an approximately 1.8 mile-long islet to the north of Formentera, has been part of the Ses Salines de Ibiza and Formentera natural park since 1980. The dunes on the small privately owned, uninhabited island make up the best-preserved dune system in the Balearic Islands and are of “great ecological value”, according to the regional government’s tourism website.

Related: Katy Perry: Woman’s World review – what regressive, warmed-over hell is this?

Lifetimes, produced by the controversial figure Dr Luke, is the follow-up single to Perry’s comeback vehicle Woman’s World, released in July to largely negative critical reviews – the Guardian’s Laura Snapes called it “regressive”.

The singles precede her upcoming album 143 – code for “I love you” – due out on Capitol Records on 20 September.

It will be Perry’s first album since 2020’s Smile, which peaked at No 5 on the Billboard 200. Her 2010 album Teenage Dream became the second album in history, after Michael Jackson’s Bad, to have five No 1 singles – California Gurls, Teenage Dream, Firework, ET and Last Friday Night (TGIF).