#FREEKESHA – The latest court ruling on February 19 determined that Kesha could not break her contract with Sony Music and her producer, Dr. Luke. Kesha fans began the #FreeKesha on social media to show their support.
If you have been on any type of social media lately, you were probably bombarded with a myriad posts or tweets about the legal battle between Kesha Rose Sebert and her producer known as Dr. Luke. You’ve probably seen the picture of a puffy faced, teary-eyed Kesha after the news of the verdict was released, but can anyone decipher the stories? As with any argument, there are three sides to it: his, hers and the truth. I’m asking, what is the truth? While millions of fans and several celebrities are supporting Kesha, Dr. Luke is being attacked for the allegations against him. Although, I don’t condone rape or abuse in any form, I also don’t condone false allegations. In a video that surfaced recently from a former legal battle between Luke and DAS Communications, Kesha and her mother both stated, under oath, that Dr. Luke had never made sexual advantages toward Kesha nor had he drugged her in any way. Shortly after the video surfaced, Kesha’s lawyer spoke out for her saying that Dr. Luke had threatened her and her mother before the legal battle. Her lawyer also stated that it wasn’t until she went through intense rehabilitation that she was strong enough to speak out about the situation. The whole thing is a bunch of ‘he said, she said.’ According to Dr. Luke’s lawyer, this whole lawsuit is “nothing more than a continuation of her bad and offensive acts.” Which brings me to this, Kesha—under the guidance and mentoring of Dr. Luke—has become known to the world as a drunken party girl. This image seemingly makes all of these allegations toward Dr. Luke null and void to most people, maybe even the Judge of her case.
All of this “he said, she said” is making me sick. I understand that there are careers on the line. I also understand that there are many other artists out there that have begged to get out of their contracts. Just last year, Zayn Malik of One Direction requested to get out of his contract with Modest Management because he no longer felt the same about the band and the way that they made music. Why can’t it be that simple for Kesha? Why can one artist just up and leave a management company, but she can’t? Why must there be these allegations toward her producer to get her out of her contract? Why do females need something horrendous to happen to them to get out of a contract but some male artists can just up and leave their contracts? I’m not even going to pretend to know the reason. I just want answers. Why are Kesha’s allegations toward Dr. Luke invalid because of her ‘party girl’ image, but people still praise Chris Brown for physically abusing Rhianna? Why has the music industry become less about the music and more about buying and selling artists as if they’re property? Why aren’t artists free to write and record whatever they feel like? Why is there so much censorship in the media, and why don’t we know the truth about what is really happening between Kesha and Dr. Luke?
I believe that an artist should be free to terminate their contract, or be terminated, for any reason. If Kesha can’t terminate her contract because Dr. Luke apparently mentally, sexually, and physically abused her so severely that she had to go to rehab; then I don’t believe that Zayn Malik should have gotten out of his contract, because he didn’t feel like making music with the band anymore. I feel that all of the artists of today should be treated fairly, and with respect. Not as if they’re property, to be bought and sold as they progress.
