On February 19th, a New York judge ruled with Sony music on the court case between singer Ke$ha and producer Dr. Luke.
It was a monumental decision when the court sided with Sony and not the artist. Ke$ha has been in a legal battle with Dr. Luke since 2014, with her claiming that he verbally and physically abused her when they worked together on her albums. The artist was hoping that the court would decide to allow her to break her contract with Sony so that she could work on new music without the company. Unfortunately, this was not the decision. Ke$ha is still required to keep her contract and she can only make new music with Sony and the producer who abused her.
This is not only an important case for the music industry, but it is a perfect portrayal of the victim shaming that happens in America toward sexual assault victims.
The ruling was based on lack of evidence, even though the singer testified to over 10 years of sexual, verbal, physical, and emotional assault by her producer. The court decided that, even though this might be true, she is still required to face her abuser and work with him.
Also, Sony is stuck between a rock and a hard place in this case because Ke$ha's contract is with Dr. Luke, not the company. Legally, they cannot do anything such as letting her go or firing her.
A singer would not just make up allegations like this against someone who helped to start her career. It took more bravery and courage than I can ever imagine for her to take the stand and tell the story of everything that she has gone through. It saddens me that the legal system can still side with criminals and not the victims of their atrocious crimes.
This case will continue and I hope that Americans decide to stand with the talented artist and help #FreeKesha.
"All I ever wanted was to be able to make music without being afraid, scared, or abused," said Kesha in a Facebook post on February 24th.
