Singer and songwriter Kesha has recently been in the headlines, but not because she dropped a new album or because she’s going on tour, but because of her ongoing battle with producer Lukasz Gottwald, better known as Dr. Luke, from Kemosabe Records, a company under Sony Music Entertainment.
In 2014, Kesha filed a report against Dr. Luke, claiming that he has emotionally abused her, drugged her and sexually assaulted her. As a result of these incidents, Kesha simply asked to be released from her contract with Kemosabe Records. She didn't ask for money to heal her damage, and she didn't ask for Dr. Luke to lose his job. All she wanted was freedom from Dr. Luke, and the ability to be happy in her career once again.
Seems simple, right? A woman who has been abused and drugged just wants to be released from her contract so she can move on and focus on becoming better. Well, apparently it’s not that easy. On February 19th, a preliminary injunction, something that would have allowed Kesha to continue making music outside of her contract with Sony until the end of the case, was denied by New York Supreme Court. Kesha’s contract states that she is to make six more albums with Dr. Luke before she can be released. In that case, even if she released an album a year, that’s still six years with the man who has caused her so much emotional stress that she developed an eating disorder. Not cool, New York.
In an Instagram post made on April 3, Kesha posted a photo of herself captioned with the following:
"so. I got offered my freedom IF i were to lie. I would have to APOLOGIZE publicly and say that I never got raped. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS behind closed doors. I will not take back the TRUTH. I would rather let the truth ruin my career than lie for a monster ever again."
A spokesperson for Dr. Luke got in contact with The Huffington Post, saying that her Instagram post is false, and Kesha's allegations are false. According to the spokesperson, Kesha is doing this for attention and money.
A graphic made and posted by The Enliven Project shows the truth behind exactly how many rape accusations are false.
In my personal opinion, Kesha should be free to produce music outside of her contract even if the case is still ongoing. No person should be forced to work with somebody that they are not comfortable with, for whatever reason. Even if Kesha wanted to be released because she had a weird vibe about working with Dr. Luke, she should be allowed to. I understand that a contract is a contract, but mental health and happiness is more important than keeping someone where they are far from happy. You wouldn't tell someone who is married to an abusive person that they cannot get a divorce because they vowed "til death do us part," so why force an abused woman to work with her abuser because of a contract?
It's cases like these that prevent victims of abuse from coming forward and fighting against their abusers. They watch as this public figure gets torn down and is denied freedom and they think, "Well if she isn't believed, I won't be either."
It is important to stand by Kesha no matter what the outcome of the case is, no matter what Dr. Luke says, and no matter what Sony or any representative says. During this time, it is important that she knows that there is an army of people who stand behind her and believe her even if the rest of the world is trying to tear her down.
