"I ain't cooking all day, I ain't your mama/ I ain't gon' do your laundry, I ain't your mama/ I ain't your mama, boy, I ain't your mama/When you're gon' get your act together?/I ain't your mama."
When Jennifer Lopez teased her new track "Ain't Your Mama," the internet flipped. It loved it – it was sassy and fun and said so much of what so many of us have wanted to say to our significant others, and our friends from time to time. However, when late last week, it was revealed that the song had been co-produced by Dr. Luke (yes, that Dr. Luke), the #FreeKesha movement especially have taken to social media to remind JLo of just how problematic her work with him is for what they are doing and what Kesha is and has gone through. Many are publicly boycotting JLo and the song, while others are standing by the Latin pop star, including Meghan Trainor who wrote the song and has called the backlash "ridiculous."
While many artists have come forward to support Kesha over the last few months, none have outwardly supported Dr. Luke - thus this release has been shaped in public discourse as an endorsement (accidental or otherwise) of the producer.
E! News speculates that, Trainor and Lopez may have purposefully ushered the first Luke produced music into 2016, as a statement of their own female empowerment statement - I'm not sure how that works out but, we'll let them suggest that. Much of the wrath JLo has been enduring comes from the fact that she has been a #freekesha ally, as one shared: “Girl what? You call yourself a feminist and a #FreeKesha supporter yet you’re promoting a song produced by Dr Luke??”
The court battle involving Dr. Luke & Kesha is far from over, but it appears to be spreading into Hollywood as a whole, and this song and the backlash Jennifer Lopez has received; as well as the push back from Meghan Trainor, proves the volatile space this case lives in. Victim blaming has been ever present in this case and the apparent support of Dr. Luke, implied by this song's release, is not helpful to the cause at all - and begs the question (again) of why Dr. Luke, an alleged rapist gets to continue working and making money while Kesha has been black-balled out of the music industry.
I can only speculate that this is going to get more and more heated, but we'll have to wait and watch. At the time of this writing Lopez has not commented on the backlash and media continues to focus on the 'sexiness' of the song, and artist.
Great stuff really.