Pop star Kesha. Photo courtesy of Fox News.
Summary: Kesha is filing an appeal to the injunction against Dr. Luke that was denied in February.
Back in February, a judge denied an injunction which sought to allow Kesha to work without her producer Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald). The decision brought an onslaught of public support for the troubled singer, but now she’s fighting back on her own. The Verge reports that she and her attorney Mark Geragos are appealing.
Last year, Geragos had been vocal that without an injunction her career would be “effectively over.” In the latest appeal, he likens Kesha’s forced working relationship to modern slavery.
“Although it recognized that ‘slavery was done away with a long time ago’ and that ‘[y]ou can’t force someone to work… in a situation in which they don’t want to work,’ the Court’s ruling requiring Kesha to work for Gottwald’s companies… does just that,” the filing stated.
To recap, since 2014, Kesha has been involved in what could be one of the most cringeworthy legal battles in entertainment. The “Tik Tok” and “Your Love Is My Drug” singer claimed that her mentor and producer, Dr. Luke, drugged, emotionally abused and raped her during the course of their relationship, which spanned almost a decade. She sought to be released from her contract with Dr. Luke, his label Kemosabe, and Kemosabe’s parent label Sony Music. Instead of releasing Kesha for a fee, which is what most companies do, Dr. Luke and company has fired back, dragging this battle out and essentially halting Kesha’s career. Under contract, she cannot create or release new music without Dr. Luke’s involvement, and since this case started, she has not released anything new. In a fickle industry like entertainment where the next thing is what keeps you relevant, that’s why Geragos said that without an injunction her career would be over.
After February’s ruling, many female musicians came out to support Kesha, and fans continued their campaign, #FreeKesha, which begged the courts to allow her to escape from the clutches of Dr. Luke. While Kesha’s allegations against Dr. Luke are only he said-she-said at this time, fellow musician Kelly Clarkson seemed to substantiate Kesha’s claim that the music producer was a creep. She revealed on a radio show that he was “demeaning,” “not a good person,” and “lies a lot.”
On Twitter, the normally behind the scenes and reclusive music producer defended himself. “Until now I haven’t commented on the lawsuits, which should be resolved in court not here on Twitter,” Dr. Luke said. “It’s a shame that there’s so much speculation out there basing itself on so little information. I didn’t rape Kesha and I have never had sex with her.”
The Verge reports that this legal dispute could take years to resolve, and they stated that “Kesha’s decision to file this appeal is a logical next step in the case.”
Source: The Verge