Friday, the singer wept in court after a judge denied her bid to get out of her contract with the mega-hit music producer, The Toronto Star reports.
Dr. Luke, who has worked with Kelly Clarkson, Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, and Katy Perry, has denied Kesha’s allegations, saying she fabricated the charges to get out of the contract.
The court decision isn’t the final judgment, but it has led to a wave of support for Kesha from other celebrities on the social media, including Clarkson.
Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, and Fiona Apple have all gone on the social media to tweet their support for Kesha, The Boston Globe reports.
In her 2014 lawsuit against Sony and Dr. Luke, Kesha alleges he raped her, forced her to drink alcohol, and gave her “sober pills,” which she claims were GHB, a depressant. The suit alleges that if she talked to anyone about the rape, he would ruin her career. Dr. Luke alleges that the singer and her family are trying to extort him, and he has counter-sued.
Lovato wrote she was “ready for self-proclaimed feminists to start speaking out or taking action for women’s rights,” Rolling Stone reports. Some fans thought this was a dig at Swift, but numerous sources connected to Swift said Lovato’s tweets weren’t connected to Swift’s donation. A source close to Swift said that the singer decided to act when she saw “the heartbreaking courtroom photos of Kesha.”
In Friday’s decision, New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich sided with Dr. Luke and Sony, telling Kesha’s legal team that they were asking the court to destroy a contract that was a typical industry contract that had been heavily negotiated. Mark Geragos, Kesha’s lawyer, requested an injunction, telling Kornreich the career of a pop star is usually brief, and Kesha’s career may be “irreparably harmed” if she didn’t return to recording music.
“There has been no showing of irreparable harm,” Kornreich said while denying the injunction. “She’s being given opportunity to record.” Kesha, whose full name is Kesha Rose Sebert, will have to record six more albums for Dr. Luke under Kemosabe Records, a Sony imprint.
Christine Lepera, Dr. Luke’s attorney, said she was pleased with the outcome of the decision, Rolling Stone reported.
“As the Court recognized, Ms. Sebert has always had the ability to proceed with her career if she so chooses,” Lepera said. “We remain confident that when all the facts are presented that Ms. Sebert’s allegations against Luke will be shown to be completely false and were asserted solely to extort money and gain contractual leverage.”
Geragos didn’t respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment after the hearing.
The civil lawsuit alleges that Dr. Luke told Kesha he would destroy her and her family’s lives if she went public about the abuse, CNN reports.
Dr. Luke maintains that the abuse never happened and alleges that new management persuaded the singer to break their exclusive contract by threatening to wreck his reputation.
