Recently, it was reported that Kesha's preliminary injuction has been denied by Judge Shirley Werner Kornreich. The injuction would have allowed the pop star to record music outside her contract with producer Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald - a.k.a Dr. Luke.
In an exclusive from Billboard, Kesha claimed she was raped and drugged by Dr. Luke. His control also included psychological abuse over the singer since she moved to Los Angeles in 2005 up until 2010 when recording her albums. "I was too young and naive to even understand what he was doing to me," said the singer
Her mother, Rosemary Patricia "Pebe" Sebert stands by her, claiming "she was a prisoner." With her mother and lawyer protecting her, the platinum artist has not released any music because of her refusal to work with Dr. Luke. But Sony has expressed that she's allowed to work with another producer, but Dr. Luke still needs to approve them. "He has final say over everything," clarifies Sony Music.
Celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Adele, Demi Lovato, Lorde, Lena Dunham, Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift has in one way or another supported Kesha, raising the problem of sexism and mistreatment of women in the music industry. Kelly Clarkson even described Dr. Luke as "demeaning" and "not a good guy."
While Dr. Luke continued to deny the sexual abuse claims against him, he is still adamant that the whole scenario is an attempt to tear up a contract negotiation. Mom Pebe responded, saying that Kesha "wanted to have a shot at the music business, she had no choice but [to work with him]."
She went on to say that her daughter would call her to remind her that he owns her. Between 2008 and 2009, Kesha alleged that Dr. Luke forced her to snort a substance and made sexual advances towards her while they were on a plane to Los Angeles. "Pebe" said she called her while drunk. Later, she was told she's not allowed to interfere with her daughter in any way.
According to Billboard, Music producers are known for using unorthodox methods to coax great performances out of their artists. One time, Phil Spector famously pulled a gun on John Lennon during one session -- and Dr. Luke, according to some of the artists and executives with whom he has worked, was no exception.
