The Kesha Dilemma: Accusations, Lies and a Star Trapped By Her Own Words

While pop culture may have enjoyed a few years without the sleaze-pop sounds of Kesha, the proud princess of trash-pop is back in the spotlight for a very different reason. A New York judge has denied Kesha a court injunction that would have allowed her to break free from her six-record deal with record label Sony Music, following a 2014 filing in which the singer sued producer Dr. Luke and accused him of drugging, raping and abusing her over the course of a decade.  

While Dr. Luke has denied all charges and Kesha herself testified in 2011 under oath, in specific detail, that no such assault took place, a wave of support has risen for the singer since the judge’s decision was handed down last week. In addition to public statements of support in a #FreeKesha social media campaign from Lady Gaga, Lorde, Miley Cyrus, Fiona Apple, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and more, Taylor Swift has donated $250,000 to Kesha to help with any of her financial needs.

“There are people all over the world who love you Kesha,” Gaga wrote. “And I can say truly I am in awe of your bravery.”

“Standing with Kesha through this traumatic, deeply unfair time,” added Lorde. “Send good vibes her way, everyone.”

Dr. Luke – real name Lukasz Gottwald – and his legal team have claimed that Kesha made up the allegations as an attempt to nullify her contract with Dr. Luke and Sony, and that she has been given permission to record without involvement whatsoever – while still honoring her Kemosabe/Sony contract, but the singer has refused. Given her 2011 sworn testimony supporting the producer’s claims – directly stating “Dr. Luke never made sexual advances to me,” Judge Kornreich reserved to rule on a motion to dismiss the claims until Kesha’s lawyers filed more evidence on the alleged abuse.

Kesha’s lawyer Mark Geragos had asked for an injunction because, as he explained to the judge, the career of a pop star is often brief, and Kesha’s career would be “irreparably harmed” if she continued to languish in courtrooms instead of recording studios.

“There has been no showing of irreparable harm. She’s being given opportunity to record,” Judge Kornreich said in denying the injunction. This means that Kesha will have to record six more albums under Kemosabe Records, Dr. Luke’s division under Sony.

In a statement on Monday, Christine Lepera, a lawyer for Dr. Luke, said: “Kesha is already ‘free’ to record and release music without working with Dr. Luke as a producer if she doesn’t want to. Any claim that she isn’t ‘free’ is a myth.”

She added: “As Dr. Luke has said repeatedly, the allegations against him are outright lies that have been advanced to extort a contract renegotiation and money. Kesha and her counsel have cavalierly subjected Dr. Luke and his family to trial by Twitter, using a vicious smear campaign to ruin his reputation for financial gain while failing to support their claims.”

The current-day debate over accuser’s rights in America is a highly charged one, as a firestorm of social media activity has drawn jagged lines of loyalty and gender-support rallying cries bordering on mob rule.

In her supporting efforts, Demi Lovato wrote a series of tweets supporting Kesha and women empowerment.

“#FreeKesha. This is only gonna make you stronger, you brave and beautiful girl,” Lovato wrote. “Prayers are with you. Frustrating to see women come forward with their past only to be shot down, not believed and disrespected for their bravery in taking action. Happens way too often. I’m ready for women to be taken just as seriously as men. Someone tell me why anyone would ever feel brave enough to come forward if they are most likely to be ignored or called a liar?”

On one hand, Lovato has a point. Chris Brown, a convicted womanizing abuser who beat the almighty shit out of Rihanna on Grammy night seven years ago, is still thriving in an industry that goes out of its way to forget the transgressions and traumas of its cash cows. 

On the other hand, Kesha testified under oath that Dr. Luke never drugged her, never raped her, never committed any of the allegations currently making headlines. While she recanted this story through a series of coloring book messages written to fans while in rehab – a story within itself, a woman who has a genius-level IQ is bound to understand the complications of then filing a suit claiming the exact opposite happened – without a single shred of evidence. 

As Dr. Luke’s lawyers explained, “the Court also noted multiple times that her vague abuse allegations were devoid of factual detail, and that there was no evidence, whether from doctors or anyone else, to support them.”

Until this evidence is presented, the idea of running Dr. Luke out of the industry and giving Kesha a backdoor out of not only her record contract but accountability for her testimony absolving the producer of any wrongdoing is, at best, tap dancing on the very thin ice of sane reasoning. The rallying party of women around Kesha, without any supporting evidence to her claims, is akin to voting for Hillary because of her genitals: it does nothing whatsoever to further establish the voice and equal footing of women, a vital movement gaining badly-overdue momentum in modern-day society.

While presently free to record without Dr. Luke’s involvement, Kesha stands to gain far more than reputation in the leverage gained by successfully convincing a judge that he assaulted and threatened her. Free from her Sony contract, she would then be able to renegotiate a new deal at a far more appealing price, as an already-established industry name. But equally important to any individual’s right to be heard and compassionately supported in any claim of sexual assault, is the necessity of evidence to convict an individual of such a crime.  No matter the gender, no matter the high-profile supporters, no matter the cultural zeitgeist of 2016, unsubstantiated claims cannot be treated as fact – especially when the claimant herself has given directly contradictory testimony to the claim.

Hopefully proper evidence will be forthcoming on one side of the story or the other, and soon enough this will all be behind us so we can go back to celebrating the garbage music we’re being deprived of. Here’s what you’ve been missing, for a refresher: “I don’t really care where you live at/Just turn around boy and let me hit that/Don’t be a little bitch with your chit chat/Just show me where your dick’s at”

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