#FreeKesha Trends On Twitter After Kesha Denied Injunction, Forced To Work With Dr. Luke And Sony Records
Kesha squared off in court on Friday against her music producer Dr. Luke in a bid to get an injunction allowing the singer to record music on her own. Dr. Luke stands accused of rape and emotional abuse by Kesha during the years they worked together. The “Tik Tok” singer broke down sobbing in the courtroom when she was told by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich that the Sony recording contract could not be broken.
“She’s being given the opportunity to record, she can record,” Judge Kornreich said. “She does not have to have any interface at all with Mr. Gottwald in recording or producing.”
Kesha has been working for several months to get a judge to allow her to record without Sony and definitely without Dr. Luke. Her lawsuit against the music producer has been ongoing since 2014 according to USA Today. Previously, Sony agreed to allow Kesha to record without her producer but insisted that they have invested too. Previously, Sony agreed to allow Kesha to record without her producer but insisted that they have invested too much money into the singer’s career to allow her out of her contract.
Kesha’s lawyer Mark Geragos argued during the court hearing that the singer’s career has “been on ice for two years” and that her career as a recording artist is in jeopardy because she has not been able to release new music. Kesha’s camp has been arguing for some time now that an entertainer’s career tends to be short and that Kesha is in danger of having her entire career ruined because of the dispute and legal proceedings regarding Dr. Luke and her rape charges against him.
Society is so messed up! This is why people don’t speak out about being assaulted. It’s disgusting. #freekesha pic.twitter.com/OTncNod4Sw
— Sierra Watts (@thewizardwatts) February 20, 2016
Dr. Luke is also accused of verbal and emotional abuse, there are even accusations that the producer called Kesha a “fat f*****g refrigerator” in an attempt to get her to lose weight in time for a tour. Dr. Luke claims that what Kesha is doing is “blatant extortion” and has countersued Kesha, saying that she made up the accusations in an effort to get out of her contract with Sony.
His attorney says that Dr. Luke wants to keep Kesha as a client because he feels that he is the reason behind Kesha’s success. “When Kesha was discovered by my client she was no one,” the lawyer, Christine Lepera, said. “He made her famous.” The judge said that she didn’t believe Kesha’s claims that Dr. Luke and Sony were trying to ruin her career. ‘It’s not in their best interest not to make money and not to promote a recording artist in whom they’ve invested a lot of money,” Kornreich said.
this is so heartbreaking????????#FreeKesha pic.twitter.com/gJNglbfxr2
— forever tan?? (@TanBiitches) February 20, 2016
When Judge Kornreich ruled that the singer would not be let out of her Sony contract, Kesha broke down in tears. Fans who were in the courtroom on Friday to support the singer also were visibly upset. Almost immediately, news of Kesha’s courtroom loss spread to social media where fans started posting their support with the hashtag #FreeKesha.
More than 500,000 tweets have been sent in support of Kesha using the #FreeKesha hashtag since the judge’s ruling according to Digiworld, that number has since increased to nearly 2 million. The “Blah Blah Blah” singer is still under contract to record six albums for Sony, and they have recently agreed to let her record without Dr. Luke. #FreeKesha wasn’t the only hashtag to trend after the decision. Many fans blasted Sony for making their favorite singer stay under contract and both #SonySupportsRape and #SonySupportsRapists were also trending on Twitter. Many fans are standing up for Kesha and using her story to illustrate the sad reality of why many women do not report rape and sexual assault.
[Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images]
