As the disreputable behavior of Dr. Luke, Kesha Rose Sebert’s producer, comes to light, a plethora of celebrities and fans alike are standing behind the #FreeKesha movement popular on social media. Taylor Swift has generously donated $250,000 to the “Tik Tok” singer, while other celebrities, such as Lady Gaga and Lorde, have publicly supported the artist. It seems as if the general public stands by the belief that an abused woman should be able to terminate a contract with her abuser, regardless of how binding that contract may be. If only the Supreme Court had agreed...
Kesha, who previously checked into a rehabilitation center for treatment related to an eating disorder, was told by her doctors that the continuation of a contract with Dr. Luke would be “life threatening.” With this comment in mind, Sebert sued her producer along with affiliated record companies who have "ratified Dr. Luke's unlawful conduct by covering up his actions and forcing Ms. Sebert to continue to work with him despite his abusive behavior." The relief sought includes the void of Kesha’s recording agreements, and the ability for the singer to enter into contracts with other recording and publishing companies.
Kesha asserted that Dr. Luke forced her to snort illegal drugs and gave her “sober pills," also known as the date rape drug. A quote from the pop singer’s lawsuit exhibited the severity of the assault reads:
“Ms. Sebert took the pills and woke up the following afternoon, naked in Dr. Luke's bed, sore and sick, with no memory of how she got there. Ms. Sebert immediately called her mother and made a 'fresh complaint,' telling her that she was naked in Dr. Luke's hotel room, she did not know where the clothes were, that Dr. Luke had raped her, and that she needed to go to the emergency room."
In retaliation to the allegations set against him, Dr. Luke filed a lawsuit of his own. A lawyer who worked in defense of the producer stated:
“As set forth in the complaint that we have filed on behalf of Dr. Luke, Kesha and her mother are engaged in a campaign of publishing outrageous and untrue statements about Dr. Luke to third parties, including scurrilous and false statements of purported physical and mental abuse of Kesha. These are allegations that Kesha and Pebe have themselves admitted are false. The complaint explains that Kesha and her mother Pebe have wielded these defamatory statements in an attempt to extort Gottwald into releasing Kesha from her exclusive recording agreement with Dr. Luke."
Last week, Kesha’s request to record new music outside of her contract with Sony Music was denied.
Fans quickly took to social media with the hashtag #FreeKesha to perpetuate the idea that unless a woman is empowered enough to terminate a contract with her alleged abuser, then in no way is she truly free. The tragedy of a woman being told that her word is simply not good enough prevents others being abused from coming forward as well. If Kesha’s allegations were not taken seriously, why would anyone else’s allegations be? The act of denying Kesha her freedom undoubtedly stripped many others of their freedom as well.
Lady Gaga put it best when she said:
“...So when you say something happened to you, we will let the government decide if it happened or not? I don’t want to live in a country like that. I want to be somewhere where a child says: “I was raped”, every adult says: Are you okay? What happened to you? We want to help you...”
Moving forward, it needs to be acknowledged that without a supportive society for victims, those victims will no longer be willing to come forward, and that is where the problem lies.
