Kesha News: Singer Appeals Judge's Denial To Release Her From 'Slavery' Contract
Kesha has filed an appeal against a judge's February ruling that did not permit the "Tik Tok" singer to get released from her contract with Sony as well as the record producer Lukasz Gottwald a.k.a. Dr. Luke.
Last year, she had filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke, charging him with drugging as well as sexually, physically and emotionally attacking her for a decade. Denying her charges, Dr. Luke filed a countersuit against Kesha for "breach of contract and defamation."
On the 19th, Justice Shirley Kornreich denied her request for a preliminary injunction so that she could record outside Gottwald's Sony-owned record label. Kesha has filed an appeal to the New York Supreme Court against the ruling.
"The court erred in basing its decision on its finding that Kesha could record without interference from Gottwald," Kesha's attorney, Mark Geragos, wrote in the appeal.
"Although it recognized that 'slavery was done away with a long time ago' and that '[y]ou can't can't force someone to work ... in a situation in which they don't want to work,' the Court's ruling requiring Kesha to work for Gottwald's companies, purportedly without his involvement, does just that," he continued.
Citing affidavits from "individuals with over 100 years of collective experience in the music industry, each of whom attested to the fact that a young pop star's fame will fade quickly, and permanently, due to a loss of momentum," the counsel opposed Kornreich's viewpoint that Kesha had not suffered "irreparable harm" to her career
New York courts have discovered that "irreparable harm to the careers of young musicians like Kesha" have been done. Especially when the careers are brief and may sink if they are not pursued with determination, Geragos added.
Dr. Luke's legal team thus issued the following statement: "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."
