Taylor Swift is the latest pop star to support the Free Kesha campaign, announcing that she’s donating a cool quarter million for her colleague’s legal problems, according to CNN. But Kesha is not incarcerated. Rather, she is imprisoned in a recording contract with Dr. Luke of Kemosabe Records, who she says has been abusive for a decade.
On Friday, a judge ruled against Kesha, finding evidence of sexual abuse insufficient and calling her contract “heavily negotiated.” The judge did not rule on motions to discuss Kesha’s claim but also declined to issue an injunction that would allow Kesha to record independently.
The Backstory
Kesha Rose Sebert claims that since 2005, Lukasz Gottwald, who convinced her to come to California and invested $ 60 million in her career, has pushed her almost to her breaking point sexually and mentally. She says that he threatened retaliation if she exposed him.
Meanwhile Gottwald, known as Dr. Luke, argues that Kesha and her representatives are just trying to get out of the deal. He denies drugging or raping Kesha, which she says happened in 2005, and points to all he had done to support her career as evidence of his concern for her best interests.
Kornreich was skeptical, according to The Holywood Reporter. “You’re asking the court to decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated and typical for the industry,” said the judge to Mark Geragos, the attorney for Kesha, who sat in the back row with her mother.
The judge declined to make any drastic moves, saying the lack of medical evidence, such as hospital records to corroborate the assault allegations, did not support it. “I don’t understand why I have to take the extraordinary measure of granting an injunction,” she said.
Pop Power Behind Kesha
While the judge was not buying Kesha’s claims in a New York courtroom last Friday, the pop star has found much support from fans and other female singers, including Lady Gaga and Demi Lovato. The #FreeKesha hashtag was trending for much of last week on social media and now Taylor Swift has swooped in to lend Kesha some assistance in the form of $ 250,000 to help with these “trying times.”
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