Kesha's Bid for Release from Dr. Luke Contract Denied Following Abuse Allegations
Published Feb 19, 2016
A New York judge has denied Kesha's request to be freed from her contract with Sony Music and Dr. Luke's Kemosabe label following the pop singer's accusations against the producer for sexual and emotional abuse. The verdict was handed down today (February 19) in New York City, with the judge claiming "there has been no showing of irreparable harm" to Kesha's career.Buzzfeed reports that while Kesha had filed an injunction against her label and longtime producer, New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich ruled to not let the singer out of her contract, despite Kesha's allegations that she was raped by the producer and endured years of physical and sexual abuse. The decision was made after hearing arguments from both Kesha (a.k.a. Kesha Sebert) and Dr. Luke (a.k.a. Lukasz Gottwald).
While Sony has apparently given the singer the go-ahead to record without the involvement of Dr. Luke, Kesha's legal team argued that this was an "illusory promise." It was further alleged that the label would likely not promote Kesha's music in the future, and that the label had "sided" with the producer.
Kornreich did not take to this argument, telling Kesha's lawyer Mark Geragos, "You're asking the court to decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated and typical for the industry." It was added that the decision was "the commercially reasonable thing."
Sony's lawyers had rebutted claims that the label was intentionally ruining Kesha's career, saying: "Our interest is in her success. Our interest is in Dr. Luke's success. They are not in the least bit mutually exclusive."
Outside of the trial, fans had gathered to show their support for the singer and the #FreeKesha campaign.
Kesha first came out in 2014 with her accusations against Dr. Luke, which included making unwanted sexual advances, forcing her to snort "a substance," and physical attacks. Her lawsuit claimed that she had been given "sober pills" by Dr. Luke one night, and woke up the next morning naked and sore in the producer's bed.
At the time, Dr. Luke called the lawsuit "a campaign of publishing outrageous and untrue statements."