Kesha Appeals Judge’s Dr. Luke Decision, Claims Career Will ‘Fade Quickly’
Kesha in court last month (Photo: Getty Images)
Much of the outcry over a New York court’s recent decision that Kesha cannot be let out of her contract with Sony and Dr. Luke, despite her claims that he raped her, was about emotion. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornriech said in her decision that the injunction Kesha sought to block Sony from enforcing the recording contract she signed in 2005 is not a legal vehicle for challenging contracts. A photo of Kesha sobbing in the courtroom as the verdict was read enraged fans.
The hashtag #FreeKesha easily trended; fellow celebrities spoke out on her behalf. People began to protest outside Sony’s headquarters. A source within the company said that Sony was looking for a way to part ways with Dr. Luke in order to contain the negative press (Luke has denied that report).
Kesha’s lawyers are capitalizing on that emotion in a new filing appealing the decision, arguing that ordering her to fulfill the remainder of her exclusive deal with Dr. Luke amounts to modern day slavery.
Kesha’s attorney, Mark Geragos, also argues in court documents filed that Kornreich was not correct in her decision that Kesha wouldn’t suffer “irreparable harm” should she be forced to finish out her six-album deal.
“Kesha submitted affidavits by individuals with over 100 years of collective personal experience in the music industry, each of whom attested to the fact that a young star’s fame will fade quickly, and permanently, due to a loss of momentum,” Geragos writes in the appeal.
Kesha’s music career has been on hold since she and Dr. Luke both filed suit against each other last October.
Dr. Luke (Photo: Getty Images)
In a lengthy note to her fans after Kornreich’s decision last month, Kesha wrote that she was “so, so beyond humbled and thankful for all of the support” she had received.
A spokesperson for Dr. Luke, who has denied the claims against him, told BuzzFeed: “The Court repeatedly stated Kesha was already free to record without Dr. Luke, and that she had not presented any facts supporting her claims. That’s because all the evidence — including Kesha’s own sworn testimony – show her allegations are false. Her attorneys can continue manufacturing even more false and outrageous claims, but the fact remains that her time would be better spent in a studio than wasting time having her lawyer and mother spin lies in the media.”
