Content Warning: Sexual Assault
Can you name Kesha’s last song?
Think about it, when was the last time you heard Kesha’s voice on the radio? The dance floor? I’ll give you a hint: you haven’t, not since “Timber.” That song came out in 2013.
For the last two years, the pop singer has been embroiled in a legal battle with her producer, Lukasz Gottwald (“Dr. Luke”), over ending her contract with Sony Music. Kesha claims that for a decade Gottwald repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped her, in addition to committing physical and psychological abuse.
Kesha’s lawsuit describes numerous instances when Gottwald drugged and raped her, called her “a fat f***ing refrigerator,” and told her she was “lucky” to have him as a producer. It seems she wasn’t so lucky, though; a couple years ago Kesha entered rehab for an eating disorder fueled, she said, by Gottwald’s sustained abuse.
In light of these horrors, Kesha wants to terminate her contract with Sony so she can record her music free from violence. After a decade of rape and abuse and an eating disorder that nearly killed her, a fresh start doesn't seem like it should be an enormous request.
Evidently it was. Sony denied Kesha’s plea to break from Gottwald, subsequently calling her lawsuit a “transparent and misguided attempt to renegotiate her contracts.” Unless a judge declares the contract void, Sony owns Kesha’s voice until she produces six more albums for the music corporation. For comparison, the 10 albums topping Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list were each released a year after the artist’s previous album. Taylor Swift has only ever released five albums. At a minimum, Kesha would have to stay with Gottwald for six more years to finish her contract.
On Friday, though, New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich rejected Kesha’s appeal. “You're asking the court to decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated and typical for the industry,” the Justice said. “My instinct is to do the commercially reasonable thing.”
In the name of commercial reasonability, the music industry, and now the legal system, have decided to force a rape victim to continue working with her rapist. Kesha is being asked to choose between her career and her personal safety. How very reasonable.
The legal system may not do anything to rescue Kesha, but that shouldn’t mean the fight is over. Sony has the power to end its contract with Kesha.
I imagine if Sony’s biggest stars refused to produce music until it cut Kesha’s contract, she would be free pretty quickly. Adele, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Bruno Mars, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, One Direction and Pitbull are just some of the most famous singers with Sony Music contracts. One collective statement insisting that Sony frees Kesha would make all the difference.
Some celebrities have tweeted their support for Kesha, including Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson, who herself has worked with Gottwald. While the show of support is important, a few tweets won’t change the court’s mind or convince Sony to end the contract. Kesha needs more than just sympathy.
Expecting other celebrities to not only support but also to fight for Kesha is not an unreasonable expectation. 2015 was the year female artists finally embraced the title of “feminist.” Beyoncé performed in front of an iconic backdrop of pink letters spelling out “feminist.” Taylor Swift gave us all #squadgoals with her posse of female artists. Jennifer Lawrence called out Hollywood for pay discrimination. Amy Schumer took on sexual assault in the military. Emma Watson spoke at the UN about the need to embrace feminism.
Where are these feminist leaders now, when we need them most? Being a feminist means more than just wearing the label for profit. It means standing up when a fellow singer is being held hostage.
The law, as it so often does, failed Kesha. Through their silence, celebrities failed Kesha. As consumers, we failed her too.
We are just as responsible in supporting Kesha. We danced to “Tik-Tok” and “Die Young.” We knew all the words to “Timber.” We screamed her lyrics, not knowing the pain she was enduring to produce music for us. Yet for all our adoration, we didn’t notice when Kesha disappeared. No major news sources reported on her lawsuit. We forgot the words to “Timber.” Occasionally someone at a party asks, “What ever happened to Kesha?”
Do we really want to live in a world where major corporations own the rights to a person’s voice, regardless of the violence they inflict? Do we want to live in a world where producers can rape their artists with impunity? Do we want a legal system that shackles victims to their rapists?
No, we don’t. We should want a system that doesn’t prioritize money over rape and abuse.
The question in this case is not whether Gottwald should go to prison, or even whether he should be punished at all for what he allegedly did to Kesha. The question is simple: do you force a female artist who feels physically threatened by her producer to sing only for him?
In answering the age-old question of why women don’t report what happened to the police, we need to look no further for an answer than Kesha. If we want women to report sexual assault, there needs to be some benefit in reporting.
Days before the Court handed down Fridays’ decision, Kesha posted a video online of her singing. “I can’t put out new music,” she whispered, “but I can sing a little something, of someone else’s songs, of something that exists.”
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see."
#FreeKesha.
Dana Raphael is a Trinity junior. Her column runs on alternate Mondays.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.