Most of us are aware of the lawsuit, rainbow superstar, Kesha filed against her producer in the fall of 2014. Kesha accused her producer, Lukasz Gottwald, or Dr. Luke, of “despicable conduct, including emotional manipulation, surreptitiously feeding her a date-rape drug and sexual assault." This two-year legal battle Kesha has been fighting has brought light to sexual harassment, not only in the entertainment industry but in all industries it's occurring in.
Unfortunately, on Feb. 19 , Justice Shirley Kornreich, the New York State Supreme Court judge, denied Kesha the motion to release her from her contract with Sony in spite of all the allegations made against Dr. Luke. Kornreich claimed that she wanted to do the commercially reasonable thing and is acting in Kesha’s best interest. Is her best interest to be stuck with her abuser a decade more?
Kesha is fortunate enough to have most of the world supporting her actions with #FreeKesha, donations, and petitions in her name. The world understands the traumatic lifestyle she has dealt with for a decade and finds it more than necessary for her to be allowed to be free of him, the abuser. With the emotional and financial backing of celebrities like Demi Lovato, Lena Dunham, Taylor Swift, Lorde, Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson and more, Kesha is not facing this legal battle alone.
Although I’m thrilled to see the strong female and male supporters by her side, the issue at hand is sexual abuse happens to women in the workforce and outside, more often than it should. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2013, 10,000 sexual harassment charges were filed Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies, and four in five of those who came forward were women. The worst part is, those are just the women who came forward. There’s a fear to come forward when this kind of abuse occurs. Women are afraid of retaliation, losing their jobs, having their voices unheard. These instances are happening all around us and it takes a celebrity like Kesha to come out with courage and share her story for us to really pay attention to the numbers.
What’s even more disturbing, is that her place as women is more than likely making her battle harder for her to fight. Just recently, Zayn left his contract because he was unhappy. How did this not turn into a legal battle? Chris Brown allegedly abused Rihanna and yet he faced no charges or negative public attention. But now, because Kesha is a woman, she is struggling to get out. She shouldn’t need to pay a significant amount of money to get out of a contract when all she wants to do is be free of her abuser and to finally live her life authentically without the pressure of fear ruling it. The ruling is so clear to the public eye that the dismissal of her accusations seems alarmingly unfair. How can you allow a women to continue to live in fear that her abuser can hurt her? How can you allow a woman to feel that her sexual harassment is not significant enough to be considered real?
According to the ruling, Kesha must honor her contract that states she is required to record six more albums with Sony with an average production rate that will have her work for another 12 years. However, Dr. Luke and his attorneys told Kornreich that Kesha would be allowed to record her next albums without his involvement in the records.
It’s no longer about whether Kesha is involved with Dr. Luke. It’s about her ability to use music as her escape and how she no longer can because of the environment she must record in. It’s about how women should not feel afraid to stand up against sexual violence and workplace harassment. It’s about dismissing all doubt when a woman comes from a place of vulnerability for safety. It’s about women empowerment and protecting each other. It’s about freeing all the Kesha’s in the world from their abusers.
