Many of you might remember her pop hit “Tik Tok” back in 2009. You’re probably wondering why she hasn’t recorded much since then. Well, it turns out that Kesha is in the middle of a law suit with her former producer, Dr. Luke.
In October of 2014, according to CBS News, Kesha filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke for sexual abuse. She claims that he forced her to take drugs, drink alcohol, and take pills in order to rape her. She also claims that he threatened to ruin her career and life if she mentioned the rapes to anybody.
Dr. Luke counter suited her that same month and claimed that Kesha and her mother made the whole thing up. They made up the stories about the drugs, rape and alcohol in order to get out of her exclusive recording contract with Sony – the company for which Dr. Luke is still employed by.
Fast forward to February of this year, Kesha goes to court and her attorney files an injunction for her to be released from the contract. Her attorney believes that, after this, Sony would only set her up to fail. The judge ruled against Kesha’s favor and claimed it was the commercially reasonable thing to do.
This is terrible. To me, this case and Kesha’s situation are sending a message to all victims of sexual violence. It tells them that they don’t matter. This is a clear statement and reminder to society on how the justice system fails to punish the abusers and continues to blame the victims. This is exactly why many people are terrified of the idea of speaking up.
Speaking up about this terrifying, scary, dark point of their life forces them to be vulnerable. It forces the victims to show a side of themselves to society that they don’t want to show, but this is the only way that any sort of justice will be served. The vulnerability and fear they overcome just to speak up about this situation to a friend, family member, the public, or a courthouse is a big step.
When you tell these victims that their alleged abuser is free to work next to you while you continue to suffer in silence and in fear, you are telling them that they don’t matter; Their pain does not matter. If a wealthy celebrity like Kesha can’t even escape her abuser without throwing away her entire life’s work and career, how does this reassure other victims of this nation that they are safe to speak up.
This is dehumanizing. I understand that she signed a contract that says she has to work for Sony, but given the circumstances how can they not see how she would want and need to be released. The #FreeKesha movement started that same afternoon after the court’s hearing.
This is not only a movement to free Kesha from her contract and inability to record music, but also to free Kesha from the suffering and pain she has endured working with Dr. Luke. All she asks for is justice. Along with that came many supporters for Kesha, including Taylor Swift who donated $250,000 to Kesha in monetary support.
It is disgusting how our own court system can’t stand behind Kesha against sexual violence. Instead our justice system has made her seem smaller and more vulnerable than she already did.
Susy Macias
Senior Viewpoints Editor