When Kesha released “Tik Tok” in 2009, she instantly became a household name. Her debut single topped international charts and her lyrics established her fun party persona, an image that has kept her relevant in the music industry. Since her debut, Kesha has had a single in the top 10 of the Hot 100 every year except for 2015. Her last accomplishment on the chart was alongside Pitbull, as their 2014 single “Timber” was the first song to hit #1 that year.
However, Kesha was not able to celebrate and witness her success because, on January 4, 2014, she was admitted into a rehab facility for an eating disorder. Her mother, Pebe Sebert, told People Magazine that Dr. Luke, executive producer of Kesha’s two studio albums, had been pressuring her to lose weight, as he was not happy with the singer’s physical appearance in a music video. When Kesha left rehab, she filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke for sexual assault, harassment and asked to be released from the recording contract with Luke, among other charges against the producer.
It has been over a year since the lawsuit was filed, and Kesha’s contract with label Sony Music Entertainment has not granted the Tik Tok singer permission to record with anyone but Dr. Luke or any of his companies; she cannot even release a song unless he approves it.
The singer is concerned for her career. Under her legal obligations with Dr. Luke and Sony, she is not allowed to release any music, tour or market merchandise outside of the contract. Her possibilities to further promote her image have been stunted, and the continuing incident, which she cites as “intentional infliction of emotional distress,” has more than likely taken a toll on her mental well-being.
Yet hopefully, with a resurged internet campaign, this will change. On November 4, 2015, Sebert started a petition on the website change.org to release Kesha from her contract with Kemosabe Records, a smaller label owned by Sony.
The plea — which states “Those who sign this petition urge you to release Kesha from her contract with Dr. Luke and Kemosabe Records, allowing her to record with another producer or label in a safe, non-abusive environment” — is addressed to the CEO of Sony, Doug Morris. In one week, Sebert’s petition has garnered over 11,000 signatures and that number has been steadily increasing with the help of social media. The hashtag #FreeKesha has been trending on multiple social media sites such as Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook and aims to increase awareness of the pop singer’s predicament.
This is not the first petition made in defense of Kesha to gain traction quickly. In 2013, Kesha expressed that Dr. Luke had full creative control on her sophomore album “Warrior.” This led fans to believe that her producer was hindering her creativity, starting a petition to release her from Sony. This petition is currently closed, but has reached over 10,000 signatures.
Sebert’s goal to get Kesha out of her contract is not purely about business and the toll this can have on her daughter’s career. It is about promoting a safe work environment for women and setting the precedent that victims can take legal action against their abusers. Dr. Luke is referred to as Kesha’s alleged abuser in both the petition and the lawsuit, which offer multiple accounts of inappropriate and illegal behaviors towards Kesha. Some of these accusations include Dr. Luke forcing himself on Kesha, giving her a date-rape drug and threatening to destroy her family and career if she ever reported these incidents.
In order to get back into the industry, it is imperative that Kesha record and release new music. Currently, she is waiting for a January 2016 court date to cite her an injunction which would allow her to own copyright of her music instead of Sony. Her mother’s petition aims to solve this problem sooner, hopefully freeing her from her contract, her allegedly abusive producer and the censorship of her art.