Kesha's Battle With Dr. Luke Isn't Over: Updates On The Case

By Julia Dunn on April 10, 2016

After a traumatic several months following her court appearance in New York, pop musician Kesha (Kesha Rose Sebert) still isn’t free from her producer, Dr. Luke of Sony Music, who allegedly emotionally and sexually abused Kesha years ago. Most recently, Kesha has come forward with reporting the assault and is pursuing methods to remove herself from the recording contract that links her to her abuser. Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald) has denied all allegations made against him, largely referring back to court proceedings from five to six years ago where Kesha “testified the date rape never took place.

In October 2014, Kesha filed the initial lawsuit with the goal of severing the contract between her and Dr. Luke, which would allow Kesha to produce music for labels other than Sony. In the same month, Dr. Luke countersued the singer, her mother, and her Vector Management for “defamation and breach of contract, claiming that the ‘false and shocking accusations’ and Kesha’s refusal to record were tantamount to extortion,” according to Rolling Stone.

Kesha
Image Via Wikipedia Commons

As before, celebrities are still making public statements in personal support for Kesha’s hard battle. Taylor Swift, for instance, has donated a quarter of a million dollars to Kesha in case of financial need. In her performance of “Til it Happens to You” at this year’s Grammy awards, Lady Gaga sang about sexual assault as it affects college campuses, with Kesha in mind. Several other celebrities including Lorde, Janelle Monae, Kelly Clarkson, and Lady Gaga had written supportive tweets to Kesha that gained popularity back in February, such as “There are people all over the world who love you @KeshaRose. And I can say truly I am in awe of your bravery.”

Demi Lovato has expressed several times over social media that women need to rally together to support each other at all times, but especially in times of pain and struggle such as the alleged horrific scenario that has continued to hurt Kesha’s personal life and career at the same time. “Women empowerment is speaking up for other women even when it’s something uncomfortable to speak up about,” Lovato tweeted.

The main incident allegedly for which Kesha is suing Dr. Luke occurred when Dr. Luke allegedly forced her to drink, and then consume “sober pills”–which according to her attorney, resulted in Kesha allegedly waking up “‘naked in Dr. Luke’s bed, sore and sick, with no memory of how she got there.’”

In addition to allegedly date raping Kesha, “Kesha’s mother Pebe Sebert told People that Dr. Luke had pressured her daughter to lose weight, comparing her to a refrigerator,” according to the Rolling Stone. These alleged harmful interactions between Kesha and Dr. Luke have been exacerbated by the complications involved in breaking their recording contract. Kesha had initially signed her agreement through Kasz Money, Dr. Luke’s own company that has a deal with Sony; since the agreement wasn’t made directly through Sony, the company’s representatives have less control over Dr. Luke.

There is now a Go Fund Me campaign in progress to raise sufficient funds to buy Kesha out of her contract, which is the toxic tie keeping Kesha in Dr. Luke’s orbit and thus repressing not only her freedom but her creativity as an artist. The connection to Dr. Luke actively stunts her ability to create music in a safe space without anxiety. Months ago during her trial, supporters of the musician gathered in front of the courthouse with “Free Kesha” signs to show solidarity with the singer during this time.

The drawn-out nature of this case speaks to a blatant mishandling of rape cases across the U.S. Celebrities and non-celebrities alike face a majorly flawed justice system that revels still in victim blaming. During the recent ruling in the courthouse, the judge made the statement “Every rape is not a gender-motivated hate crime.” This assertion insinuates that certain rape cases are more okay than others, a highly problematic claim that minimizes the life-altering ramifications of rape culture.

http://bostinno.streetwise.co

Rape culture has become increasingly more prominent not just between celebrities in the media’s spotlight, but across college campuses. Universities and student associations across the U.S. have begun widespread campaigns to stop sexual assault on campus as a result of this becoming a mass issue; for instance, the University of California Student Association’s UConsent campaign was designated as a response to national increases in sexual assault cases, and UC Santa Cruz has a poster campaign to help educate students about consensual sex.

The way Kesha’s case has been dismissed is disheartening at best. At this point, Kesha simply seeks freedom and to have safety restored in her life. And it isn’t even about Sony — she’d be willing to continue making music with the company if it were to fire Dr. Luke altogether.

“This case has never been about a renegotiation of my record contract,” Kesha told Rolling Stone. “It was never about getting a bigger, or a better, deal. This is about being free from my abuser.”

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month; find out what you can do on your campus to end rape culture.

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