Kesha posted this selfie on her Instagram yesterday to thank fans and supporters for having her back following the judge’s ruling on her contract last Friday. Kesha is still legally bound to Dr. Luke, although the support she’s gotten from people within the music industry has been stunning. She has offers to record with some big-name producers now, plus Taylor Swift got the ball rolling with financial support.
If it feels like Sony misjudged the support out there for Kesha, you would be right. While I’m loathe to admit it, Lena Dunham wrote a piece for her Lenny newsletter that actually made me think differently about the legal side of Kesha’s situation. You can read the Lenny letter here – in between Lena making Kesha’s situation all about Lena, Lena did write this:
Now Kesha has requested an immediate injunction that would allow her to begin to record without Dr. Luke. I think this seems like a pretty reasonable request. While the allegations of sexual assault and emotional abuse cannot be proven definitively, I think Kesha’s words speak for themselves: “I know I cannot work with Dr. Luke. I physically cannot. I don’t feel safe in any way.”
Sony could make this go away. But instead the company has chosen to engage in a protracted legal battle to protect Gottwald’s stake in Kesha’s future. Although the company insists that Kesha and Gottwald never need to be in a room together and that he will allow her to record without his direct involvement, they are minimizing what Kesha says regarding how Gottwald’s continued involvement in her career would affect her physical well-being and psychological safety.
Lena’s right. I hadn’t thought about it in those terms, that even if Sony didn’t believe Kesha’s claims – and it’s clear that Sony does not – they could still have negotiated the contract out of public view and been able to free Kesha from the situation with Dr. Luke. So why didn’t they? I have no answer for that.
Meanwhile, given Dr. Luke’s Twitter rant two days ago, many sites are reviewing a deposition Kesha gave in 2011 about the claim that Dr. Luke raped her. “Sources” close to Dr. Luke provided TMZ with a heavily edited video of Kesha’s deposition in which she flatly denies being raped by Dr. Luke. But TMZ also posted a story where Kesha has maintained for years now that Dr. Luke threatened her, her career and her family if she didn’t lie and cover up his assault.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
Too bad Lena pals around with Terry Richardson. Otherwise I might have to actually take her seriously…
Exactly because she was dead silent when it came time to defend those models when they came out accusing that gross Richardson, and still worked with him after the fact so nope I can’t with her.
idk, don’t really care for Lena Dunham but she had two points that I took away:
1-the judge referenced the heavy negotiation of a commercial contract as justification for not dissolving it. Lena points out that this is equalled by a heavily negotiated human contact to not emotionally or physically harm another person that is so widely understood, it is assumed by commercial contracts. Yes, +1000, exactly. This is the social contract, period. But the judge apparently doesn’t even recognize either the dissolution of the latter or its affect on the subsequent commercial contract (sorry, writing a lit review right now, my brain is overanalyzing)
2-as Kaiser points out, that Sony chose to pursue an ironclad defense of this commercial contract (i.e. no changes at all until v. v. recently) despite the many other paths of action available to them. All of this implicitly devalues Kesha’s claims and as we all know, this is the sexism that women have faced since the beginning of freaking time. Sony is on HIS side, not hers but why? Why is SHE the liability and not Dr Luke?
The letter explains the situation very well. The first paragraph is unnecessary. I don’t need to hear about how she suffers for Kesha as she sits in her Uber ride and the tears she cried while in Brussels.
I also cannot believe she uses Uber. Apparently she is unaware of the many abuses their drivers are accused of. Her continued support of Terry Richardson is offensive. Lena needs to address that issue. I’ve read several stories of young models being treated in very sketchy ways by Richardson and his assistants. Ways in which my father would have kicked his a$$.
I suspect the internet is wrong on a bunch of the contract stuff. Like I seriously doubt Sony can just remove him completely from the picture. I know they can limit contact but she is signed to his label doesnt he own a percentage of the product? I dont know if Sony can just tear up the contract between him and Kesha without some compensation. Perhaps a buyout is possible but even that I expect allows him the prerogative to refuse.
Yeah, if they force him to let Kesha go I’m thinking they’d have to pay him, and in turn Sony will want money from Kesha.
The judge should rule that Dr. Luke pay all fees for Kesha breaking contract to Sony. His actions are what caused the situation. Why should the victim be responsible for the financial fall out from this? It’s like revictimization.
@Lulu Love, exactly, I posted before yours went through. That’s the injustice. That’s how the system is stacked against women. He’s not responsible for the situation he caused, and somehow she is.
@Lulu Love
Because the judge doesn’t/didn’t believe Kesha’s claim. Kesha is signed/in contract to Dr. Luke’s record label. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kemosabe_Records Sony is in partnership with Dr, Luke and they can’t make him do anything.
I don’t think the music industry is stacked only against women. Prince had issues getting out of his contract even with all his fame and hit records and Billy Joel got screwed over by an early manager too. The music business in general takes advantage of these artists when they are starting out. And it is these companies who freak out over copyright because they own so much more ofnth music than the artist themselves.
They can, because they just offered to do so. That’s how they scuttled Kesha’s injunction.
But as Lena points out, that’s just removal from the room. It’s not removal from Dr Luke’s influence or control. Why isn’t HE liable? God, I could rage. Why is SHE liable for her abuser’s behavior?
Why isn’t he liable? Well, if he did rape her Kesha lied under oath and testified he didn’t do it.
If he didn’t do it she’s just sick for using a rape claim as a gambit in contract negotiation.
So she’s either guilty of perjury or a monster.
I would be surprised if there isn’t some kind of morals clause in his contract with Sony, even just for the sake of it. I mean, doesn’t he sort of represent their brand? The idea that he is just this free agent who could tarnish the Sony name however he wishes to without the possibility of repercussion seems strange to me.
Sending out love to Kesha!
Can you imagine the physical and emotional stress she is under?
There must be another way for her to get out of this contract. Bankruptcy?
I’m glad there’s tons of support out there for her.
I wish Sony would’ve just let her out of her contract it’s the right thing to do. Also let’s not forget that as*hole is holding her royalties, how is that even legal?!
I wonder if he is holding her royalties because the contract stipulates that she has to cover his legal fees in any attempt to break the contract?
I haven’t seen the contract but I wouldn’t be surprised…
I’ve always thought of her as a sweet girl. I’d love to just give her a hug.
That first comment that was posted was disgusting.
Anyway, I have to admit that I’m pretty surprised by the support she’s getting. Warms my heart.
The Sony PR people must be going nuts.
The best thing to do right now is to the let her out of the contract.
I also have no idea why Sony decided to make this a public mess. They can’t be that clueless and not be expecting a public backlash?
Yes they can be THAT clueless. It happens all the time when companies think they are so invincible. Too bad we are in the information age and people know to hit companies where it hurts: online and in the pockets
The PR person must be living a damn nightmare because SONY is attached to several trending topics about supporting rape. and after the sony hack as well…they are taking hits left and right
If i were her I’d legally change my name or/ and start releasing anonymous mixtapes and self release em or some such sh!t like that , I mean Drake did it when he owed cds to Cash Money No? she should take a page from that, not that she needs to hide or anything but I mean as a way to circumvent his creepy ass and Sony and release her music on her own terms
Yeah, that’s why Prince changed his name to that symbol and put his music out himself because he was having issues with Warner Brothers.
isn’t she kind of doing that by making a band, Yeast Infection (sigh)?
it’s beyond me how sony does not believe her. what is she gaining from this? she can’t even make music anymore!
Isn’t that Dr. Luke the guy whom everyone suspected as the producer who allegedly raped Lady Gaga? Gaga later denied it was him. Man, I can only imagine what Kesha is going through. I understand why some artists are not speaking up against Luke on twitter or elsewhere and decided to help Kesha anonymously. She’s get her justice someday. Hey, everyone thought she’s one of those annoying one hit wonder who will disappear after a Tiktok but she’s still here and she’s very gutsy.
No. That was Rob Fusari.
They didn’t release her because it would be seen as an admission of guilt. Because they don’t want to set a precedent for other artists who are screwed into shitty contracts. Because they expect to win their case, ruin her reputation and use her as an example for other artists who are victims of abuse. Take your pick.
Not convinced it even matters whether the higher-ups at Sony believe her or not. Would they really act differently if they did, or admit one of their hit-maker sublabels is run by a sociopathic rapist? Perhaps they also didn’t get to where they are because of their kind and sympathetic hearts…
yeah that’s what I expect too. Kesha’s deal is pretty exceptionally lousy from her point of view, but it wouldn’t surprise me if from Sony’s point of view it’s a pretty standard contract and they have several dozens of the same shitty contract with other artists.
Ugh, I seriously wish bad things upon these type of predators.
And Sony deserves a giant kick in the ass. What a bunch of vile human beings.
I’m glad she is aware of the support, for a long time she is probably felt very alone in her fight.
Sony handle this as badly as they could have. I hope it comes back to bite them and Luke in the end.
Thoughts on the deposition from a rape survivor:
When I went to the hospital, they called the cops as hospitals are mandated to do. I begged them not to. When the police arrived, I lied and said nothing happened because in a twisted way I felt bad for the person who had just violated me.
I was trying to protect him. Why? To this day Im not sure. I cant imagine what Kesha was going through when she was bring deposed, considering Luke is in a position of power above her.
Don’t take that deposition as gospel, yall. There is a fucked up power imbalance here complicating an already crazy confusing situation.
@LA…Please don’t second guess yourself about wanting to protect your attacker. Just like Kesha initially protected Dr. Luke, this is more common than you think–especially when the person who has violated you is not a stranger. It really is beyond fuc@ed up when someone who you thought you could trust can hurt you in such a horrific manner.
I don’t know your situation, but I hope you have sought therapy with a good counselor or are at least thinking about processing what happened with a professional you can build a trusting relationship with…they are out there! Groups are always good too, and RAINN.com has a nicely done website.
I am so sorry about what happened to you. You did not deserve to raped…Kesha did not deserve it….nobody deserves it. I wish you the best of luck. 🙂
Thanks so much ciera! This was about 10 years ago so thankfully Ive worked through it 🙂 Im one of the lucky ones, its not something that haunts me or ruined my life by any stretch of the imagination.
I just wanted to preempt the discussion about that depo tape. I know people will see it and automatically discredit her now, which is such a bummer for me to see having behaved similarly with much less at stake.
Yeah! You are so smart to recommend RAINN, a great group. Blessings to all the survivors and their loved ones. May your journey become peaceful and joyous.
I made a comment on this a few days ago. I think it’s more telling that she was being asked if she’d been raped/abused by him on the stand than it was that she said no. I think women denying their abuse is common, but it being alleged by a third party like that, in court… why would someone pull that out, if she’d not said it to someone earlier? And why are so, so many women in the industry, many of whom personally know the guy, standing with her? That’s also very telling, I think.
It makes me more inclined to think she’s being truthful, not less. Because your experience is so common, when women are abused. We are socialised to feel we are to blame, and it “wasn’t *that* bad”.
You sound a very strong person. I’m so glad you were able to move past it in the way you describe, but you should never have been in a position where you needed to do so.
My sister also lied about her rape – because she knew the guy, ran in the same circles as him, and was terrified of what he would do if she were to lose a case against him. There are lots of an entirely valid reasons why rape victims act contradictory to what we expect, and pretending otherwise is part of rape culture and the trivialization of the trauma of rape.
I am sorry for her. These words are very true and represent a majority of rape and abuse cases.
You know I am actually interested in hearing form Katy Perry or Bonnie Mckee.
In that Katy Perry and Kesha came up together (kesha is in the video for I kissed a girl) they
were friends. Both of them came up under and were groomed by Dr. Luke. Katy never signed with Kemosabe and Bonnie Mckee is still under contract with him. He was the co executive producer for prism and teenage dream. And usually this stuff is a pattern of behavior its never just one girl. I dont know I hope it all goes well for her.
I have never met, or even heard of, an honest rapist. Like, DUH.
FreeKesha
Adele just dedicated her Brit acceptance speech to her, saying she stood with Kesha. I really love seeing so many women do that, when the media always makes out they are at daggers drawn, rather than supportive.
Effie Brown in the NYT article on Hollywood and the (lack of) diversity talks about a woman who told her she had to stretch a hand back to other women and minorities, as she was having this woman’s hand to her, and that she’s made a point of it. I think things are starting to change – slowly, but the wind is blowing. And partly it’s thanks to women like Kesha, saying enough is enough, and the other women risking their own career situation in standing by her. And it’s heartening, witnessing it.
Sony doesn’t care about anything except money.So unless some of these supporters are calling for a boycott of Sony products,they will not release her. Sharon Osbourne who has worked with Sony for over thirty years says Sony corporation gives 0 f#cks about the bad publicity.
If he weren’t trying to abuse her the case wouldn’t have gotten this far. To me, it’s clear. A victim, by his or her very condition, cannot always identify specific instances of abuse at the time or near the time they occurred. If she was raped, she may not have realized it until afterwards. Sometimes it takes years. Rape takes many forms because a victim of abuse would rather be in denial. It’s a protection mechanism built into our brains. Her courage is powerful, very hard to confront an abuser, especially in a public, courtroom setting. FreeKesha.