Pop megastar Katy Perry is once again making headlines — and not for her music. This time, the liberal celebrity is facing serious backlash after launching a $5 million lawsuit against an 85-year-old disabled Army veteran who is currently bedridden in hospice care. The target of her legal assault: Carl Westcott, a man suffering from Huntington’s disease, who says Perry snatched his $15 million Montecito home under distress and now wants millions more from him as he’s dying.
The saga began in July 2020, when Perry and then-fiancé Orlando Bloom pushed through the purchase of Westcott’s eight-bedroom estate. The celebrity pair even sent him a gushy note claiming it would be the perfect home to raise their soon-to-be-born baby — a letter that now, in hindsight, looks more like emotional manipulation than earnest sentiment.
Days after signing, Westcott tried to withdraw from the contract, explaining he had been recovering from major back surgery and was heavily medicated when he agreed to the sale. His family says he simply didn’t understand what he was signing. But Perry and her attorneys pounced, insisting the deal was airtight.
Despite the veteran’s deteriorating health and testimony about his mental state, a judge sided with Perry in December 2023. Even worse, Perry then countersued the ailing man, demanding:
• $3.25 million for “lost rent”
• $2.2 million for alleged repair costs
• $3 million in legal fees
All told, she is now demanding nearly $5 million from a man who can no longer walk, speak clearly, or care for himself — a man spending his final days sedated in hospice care.
Westcott’s son, Court, has spoken publicly about how the fight has devastated his father. “An apology would be welcome,” he said — a heartbreaking contrast to Perry’s aggressive legal posture.
Even PR experts are stunned. Abesi Manyando told The Telegraph, “This isn’t just a lawsuit — it’s a David and Goliath narrative… a global superstar versus an elderly, declining veteran who already lost his home.”
That narrative is hitting hard with Americans who are sick of wealthy, out-of-touch celebrities preaching compassion while crushing everyday people in court.
And this isn’t Perry’s first run-in with the elderly. In 2018, during a separate bitter property battle, 89-year-old Sister Catherine Rose Holzman collapsed and died during a hearing related to Perry’s attempt to seize a Los Angeles convent. Hours earlier, the nun had pleaded on television: “To Katy Perry, please stop.”
Now, with another senior citizen suffering under her legal hammer, many are asking the same question again.
What kind of millionaire pop star sues a dying veteran for millions?
And more importantly — when will she stop?
