[Trigger warning: cases of sexual abuse will be discussed beyond this point in the article]
There was a point in our lives where we couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing a song by artist Kesha Sebert, also known as Ke$ha. My ninth grade year was almost exclusively soundtracked by her Animal album, and she was sitting high in the charts all the way through the end of 2013, when she released “Timber” with Pitbull. Then, she seemingly dropped off the face of the planet. No new music appeared to be recorded, no singles were being sent to radio, and her general appearance in the music scene declined drastically. Where did she go?
Finally, after almost a year of silence from one of America’s top artists at the time, articles in early October surfaced reporting that Kesha was suing her producer and mentor, Dr. Luke, for sexual harassment. It was a bold move – Dr. Luke was the one to convince Kesha to leave her high school in Nashville, Tennessee and jumpstart her career in Los Angeles. Many make the argument that Dr. Luke is the one responsible for Kesha’s level of fame, and it’s not surprising – he’s produced pop hits by the dozen, including Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone”. He’s clearly someone who’s used to being in a position of power over many popular artists.
Since Kesha’s lawsuit went viral nearly a year ago, more information has steadily been released. Kesha claims that Dr. Luke mentally and sexually abused her; at one point, she alleged that the producer drugged her and forced himself on her. According to Kesha’s testimony, Dr. Luke “forced her to drink with him, then gave her ‘sober pills.’ She woke up the next afternoon, ‘naked in Dr. Luke’s bed, sore and sick, with no memory of how she got there […]’. After a trip to the ER, she discovered [Dr. Luke] gave her GHB, or gamma-hydroxybutyrate, also known as the date rape drug.”
Further accusations include verbal and mental abuse that triggered an eating disorder, for which she attended rehab in early 2014, as well as an alleged physical attack in Dr. Luke’s Malibu home. On the flip side, Dr. Luke was quick to countersue, claiming that Kesha was attempting to start a smear campaign against him and leave her contract early.
Fast forward to today. Months ago, a California judge put the case on hold, and it hasn’t been revisited since. Since Kesha is still locked between her contract and a lawsuit, she can’t continue to make music, she can’t perform on tour, and she can’t make paid public appearances anywhere. She’s stuck while Dr. Luke seems to be doing fine.
This is where things get messy.
It’s never been easy for the victim of an alleged sexual assault crime to come forward. Everyone is always so ready to put the blame on them, either by denying that the crime happened at all or by claiming that the victim wasn’t a victim at all – ergo, they enjoyed it, deserved it, or they did it to get some reward. Kesha, unfortunately, is no exception to this stigma.
When someone who is not only in a position of power over you, but is also credited with your entire career, makes it public that he thinks that your admittance to being sexually assaulted is a way to escape a contract, a lot of people believe him. Furthermore, to the general public, someone like Kesha doesn’t fit the Hollywood definition of a victim. Her previous public image was highly reliant on sexuality – and that shouldn’t be a problem! Women should be allowed to have, enjoy, and discuss sex, but the minute someone takes advantage of that and you don’t have a chastity belt for every day of the week, you’re seen as “asking for it.” It's a classic case of slut-shaming.
The public is predisposed to this idea that, for whatever reason, rape isn’t real, and when an authority figure like Dr. Luke plays into that, the victim’s struggle becomes infinitely harder.
I think it’s important to recognize the validity in the case Kesha is trying to make. She’s only asking to be let out of her contract; would someone really be willing to stand up in front of a courtroom and relay, in extreme and gruesome detail, the worst physical, emotional, and sexual encounters of their life if they didn’t really need to?
Kesha was recently quoted saying her “career is effectively over” if the delay in her trial against Dr. Luke continues, skyrocketing the story back into headlines. I know the court system is a lot bigger than one article written for the Odyssey, but would it kill us to show Kesha a little support until she gets there?
