As the second phase of Katy Perry’s legal battle with Carl Westcott kicks off in court, the 85-year-old veteran’s family tells The Post they are willing to forgive the pop star for subjecting them to the burdens of the trial — but they want one thing.
Another trial begins Thursday, Aug. 21, in which Perry, 40, is seeking damages she claims she’s owed after purchasing the $15 million mansion from him.
The Post spoke to Westcott’s son Chart, who revealed he can show Perry grace if she sincerely apologizes for “dragging out” the legal process, although he doubts that will happen. It’s worth noting that both sides have asked for the trial to be postponed throughout the legal process for various reasons.
While a judge already ruled that Perry was the rightful owner of the Santa Barbara, California, mansion, the “Dark Horse” singer countersued Westcott for $3.25 million in damages she claims she incurred because she couldn’t rent the home during their legal battle from September 2020 to March 2024.
Perry’s legal team later insisted she was owed an additional $2.2 million for alleged repairs that were needed to restore the home to its purchased condition, citing structural defects and deferred maintenance.
The mansion war began five years ago, when the entrepreneur — who is now bedridden and suffering from the neurological disorder Huntington’s disease — tried to back out of the sale just days after Perry bought the property, citing his mental incapacity. He claimed he was not in his right mind when he signed the contract, under the influence of pain meds due to a recent surgery.
However, after years of litigation, a judge ruled that “Westcott presented no persuasive evidence that he lacked capacity to enter into a real estate contract between June 10, 2020, and June 18, 2020, the days during which he negotiated and signed the contract.” He awarded Perry the mansion in December 2023.
He also ruled that there was significant evidence to demonstrate Westcott knowingly signed the contract, noting he seemed to be “coherent, engaged, lucid, and rational.”
In May 2024, the deed of the property was transferred to Perry’s LLC, DDoveB (named after the daughter she shares with ex Orlando Bloom, Daisy Dove, 4).
Regarding the alleged damages (Phase 2 of the proceedings), the singer’s attorneys claimed experts examined the estate last year and determined “that significant portions needed to be repaired, including nearly a million dollars in pervasive flood damage that occurred in early 2024 and substantial repairs that are needed due to a large tree falling on and cracking the foundation of one of the buildings on the Property, among many other defects throughout the Property.”
Perry’s business manager Bernie Gudvi “bargained for the condition of the Property in July 2020, and the $15 million purchase price was based on the Property as it existed at that time. Westcott should not be able to profit from his own deficient construction and lack of maintenance while this litigation was pending,” her lawyers argued.
While Chart previously told The Post that Perry “could’ve walked away at any time with grace and humanity” instead of fighting “a dying man in court, all for money,” Wescott’s son said there’s still room for forgiveness.
“An apology would be nice. That would tie a ribbon around the whole thing,” he shared in an exclusive interview before Phase 2’s trial. “[I’m] not expecting it. I don’t think it’s in her nature to take responsibility for anything, really at all, but certainly not for her bad acts. She doesn’t take responsibility, so that’s not going to happen. But that would be nice.”
When asked whether it would be water under the bridge if Perry said she was sorry, Chart responded, “Absolutely. I think you have to forgive people if they’re sincere in their apologies. You have to give them that grace.”
However, he noted, grace “is not what she showed my father, right? Not one ounce of grace or dignity did she allow him. So it is absolutely a necessity that we would do that and show her that grace. So it would be completely forgiven.”
While stating he couldn’t speak for everyone in his family, Chart shared it’d be nice for the singer to “let me know that there’s an actual human being in there” with “empathy and compassion left.”
Chart also shared that there will be family members present during the entire trial, which is estimated to last at least five days. This includes Chart’s sister-in-law, “Real Housewives of Dallas” alum Kameron Westcott, who is married to his brother, Court.
While Chart revealed that he and his brother will be testifying during the trial, Perry will too. The pop star’s legal team filed a request on Wednesday for her to testify on the first day of trial, according to court documents obtained by The Post, claiming it’s her only availability. The judge had not ruled on that request at the time of publication.
Perry is performing in Tampa, Florida, on Friday and Miami on Saturday before heading overseas for her concerts beginning Sept. 6.
Chart said this trial is a pain for everyone involved.
“We’re having to spend money on plane flights, hotel rooms and all this sort of thing. It’s a big inconvenience for everybody. It doesn’t seem to be an inconvenience for her. Which, you know, is very telling,” he said.
“So, unfortunately, for us, the legal fees will be high. And it’s a huge inconvenience in terms of time [and] money for the giant waste that she’s put us all through.”
Chart also told The Post that he’s shielding his ailing father from the trial.
“We try not to talk to him about it for obvious reasons of stress and anger,” he revealed. “We’re trying to make him as peaceful as possible so we don’t bring it up to him.”
“I would honestly spare him from that,” he continued. “I don’t want to cause any sort of agitation with him,” Chart explained, noting Westcott is “tired, dying and old.”
While the veteran’s family isn’t holding their breath for an apology, Chart said he’s “excited to unmask” Perry and “the spurious nature of these damages claims, which are just utterly ridiculous and a complete insult to both my father, my brother and I and our family.”
Chart hopes the singer’s mother and father are aware of the situation.
“Her parents were very devout Christians. I wonder what they think about what she’s done now and how she has conducted her public affairs,” he stated.
Perry’s parents, Keith Hudson and Mary Perry, have worked as Pentecostal pastors and evangelical ministers for over 40 years. The singer has often spoken about her ultra-conservative childhood.
“I come from a very non-accepting family, but I’m very accepting,” Perry told Vanity Fair in 2011. “We coexist. I don’t try to change them anymore, and I don’t think they try to change me. We agree to disagree.”
For Chart, he is ready to watch Perry “talk about [the legal battle] and see how she wears this mask that she must maintain. How does it fit on her skin?”
“That will be, for me, very satisfying,” he said.
The Post reached out to Perry’s rep for comment.