Katy Perry "isn't ready" to talk about estranged husband Russell Brand.

The Firework singer requested that journalists be removed from the red carpet press line at the pre-game Super Bowl party she was attending on Saturday (4 February) in order to avoid questions about their recent split, The Huffington Post claimed.

British comedian Russell filed for divorce from Katy in December after just 14 months of marriage, and a source said that the pop star is not yet comfortable with talking about her ex.

A source said: "Katy isn't ready to talk about what happened with Russell. She wanted to focus on putting on a great show at the hottest party of the weekend and enjoy hanging out with her friends. She knew that if she let media ask questions, they would ask her about Russell and she just didn't want to go there."

Katy (27) performed a nine-song set at the pre-game party and cheekily dedicated her song Peacock – which includes the lyrics "I wanna see your peacock, cock, cock" – to Denver Broncos NFL player Tim Tebow.

Katy's religious parents are said to want her to date the footballer, and the star's mother seems especially taken. A source said that Katy's mom thinks Tim is "handsome, charming, intelligent and above all, a good Christian".

Meanwhile, Russell is said to have set his sights on Katy lookalike and New Girl star Zooey Deschanel.

A source told OK! Magazine: "Russell has had his eye on Zooey for a long time. And he's been sending funny, flirty texts to see if they can get together.

"He thinks she's hysterically funny and cute, too. He loves her quirky sense of humour, and thinks they'd be great together both on-and off-screen. There's a real spark there."

But Zooey – who recently filed for divorce from husband Ben Gibbard – is said to have heard of Russell's reputation as a womaniser and doesn't want to "rush into another relationship", the source claimed.