Fact: Kesha is one of the most successful and underrated pop stars of the past 10 years.
After seven top 10 solo hits (and three top 10 features!), Kesha became noticeably absent from the pop scene.
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People started noticing. And people wanted answers. Those answers weren't so great.
In October 2014, Kesha sued her manager/producer Dr. Luke for sexual assault. He sued back, and said she was extorting him.
Kesha said she was at a "point of no return." She wasn't allowed to release new music unless she collaborated with the man she said abused her. Court documents revealed:
Kesha is at an impasse…With no new music to perform, Kesha cannot tour. Off the radio and stage and out of the spotlight, Kesha cannot… get media attention. Her brand value has fallen, and unless the Court issues this injunction, Kesha will suffer irreparable harm, plummeting her career past the point of no return.
It was...awful.
Fans rallied around her and the #FreedomForKesha movement was born.
Kesha said her career was essentially left to this court decision. Her career was on pause.
That court case went on for two years, until April 2016 when the judge presiding over the trial decided to toss out all of Kesha's abuse allegations. Her case was essentially decimated.
In tossing out the majority of the abuse claims against Sony, Dr. Luke, and his recording companies, Judge Shirley Werner Kornreich on Wednesday found that even if what Kesha alleged did occur, either it didn’t happen in New York or the statute of limitations had passed.
Yup...
...it was really fucking awful.
But that didn't stop Kesha.
While all of this lawsuit stuff was happening, Sony promised Kesha that it would allow her to record new music without her old collaborator, Dr. Luke. And Sony apparently kept that promise.
In 2017, she told Teen Vogue that she was writing an album:
"I’m currently writing an album that explores how my vulnerabilities are a strength, not a weakness."
She opened up to the magazine about her eating disorder and anxiety, all of it compounding and leading to an inevitable spiral.
When I compared myself to others, I would read more mean comments, which only fed my anxiety and depression. Seeing paparazzi photos of myself and the accompanying catty commentary fueled my eating disorder. The sick irony was that when I was at some of the lowest points in my life, I kept hearing how much better I looked. I knew I was destroying my body with my eating disorder, but the message I was getting was that I was doing great.
But nope, nada, negative: That didn't stop her either!
Kesha looks at life differently now, she told Vogue: "Now, I'm trying to embrace the skin I'm in. It's difficult sometimes. Every day I have to look in the mirror and make the choice to be kind to myself. This is who I am—I have to love that."
Kesha has dealt with a very public sexual abuse trial, body image issues, and overall fuckery. But today, she was finally able to release a new single — her first since 2013.
Praying is here 🙏 I hope this song reaches people who are in the midst of struggles Read my full Lenny Letter:… https://t.co/9MdRc8OmMa
It's called "Praying" and it's gorgeous and meaningful and will honestly make you cry.
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Unfortunately for Kesha, Dr. Luke will make money off her next three albums because she's still signed to his label. She doesn't necessarily have to collaborate with him, but he will profit regardless.
BUT LET'S FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE.
For years, Kesha was treated as someone else's property, and for the first time, Kesha is doing things the way she wants to do them.
It finally seems that after years of bullshit, Kesha is free. In "Praying" she sings, "I'm proud of who I am / No more monsters, I can breathe again."
