Katy Perry has found himself in the midst of a brewing controversy after Spanish government authorities launched an inquest into the allegedly unauthorised Ibiza shoot.
The regional government is investigating the video for her latest song, 'Lifetimes', for the clips in which the 39-year-old American singer and songwriter appears jumping and running across dunes of the Ses Salines Natural Park, a protected area on the islands of Ibiza and Formentera, apparently without permission.
In her new music video, Katy Perry pretends to be one of the thousands of tourists having the time of their lives on Spain's Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean. But some parts, filmed in a protected natural enclave, could get her into trouble.
The images taken on the dunes of the private islet of S’Espalmador, «one of the most ecologically valuable sites on the islands» and in an area cordoned off from the public with sticks and ropes, sparked the controversy, according to local media.
The Balearic Islands Department of Agriculture, Fishery and Natural Environment said that the production company responsible for recording the video in Ibiza, famed for its beaches and raucous nightlife, had not requested authorisation.
Although part of the video was shot in the Natural Park of Ses Salines, whose hills, beaches and salt flats are a haven for birds and other wildlife, the department said no crime against the environment was suspected, but rather an administrative violation.
Ses Salines is a UNESCO World Heritage nature reserve that