They’re with her. Oscar winners Anne Hathaway and Reese Witherspoon are the latest Hollywood A-listers to join the #FreeKesha movement. Both stars took to their Instagram accounts and publicly supported the singer after she lost her court case to music producer Dr. Luke last week.
“I stand with @iiswhoiis,” Hathaway, 33, wrote on Instagram on Tuesday, February 23. “If you are unfamiliar with the case, @LenaDunham does a brilliant job in this week’s @LennyLetter explaining the nightmare in which Kesha finds herself. Kesha’s situation is just one of all-too-many examples of how the legal system in this country fails to protect victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence, the vast majority of whom are women. Please regram and add your voice and your support! (Follow the link in my bio.) #FreeKesha.”
Witherspoon also praised Dunham’s letter, which detailed Kesha’s case. “Thank you @lenadunham for helping me understand the #Kesha case and for standing up for all survivors of abuse,” the mom of three, 39, wrote on Instagram on Tuesday. “#FreedomForKesha #regram @lennyletter.”
Kesha’s plea to terminate her contract with Dr. Luke (Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald), was denied by NYC judge Shirley Kornreich last Friday. Dunham responded to the court case in her Lenny letter on Tuesday, writing: “While the allegations of sexual assault and emotional abuse cannot be proven definitively, I think Kesha’s words speak for themselves: ‘I know I cannot work with Dr. Luke. I physically cannot. I don’t feel safe in any way.'”
Dr. Luke, meanwhile, has denied the allegations repeatedly. “I have 3 sisters, a daughter, and a son with my girlfriend, and a feminist mom who raised me right,” he tweeted on Monday, while his legal team released a separate statement to Us Weekly.
“As Dr. Luke has said repeatedly, the allegations against him are outright lies that have been advanced to extort a contract renegotiation and money,” the statement read. “Kesha and her counsel have cavalierly subjected Dr. Luke and his family to trial by Twitter, using a vicious smear campaign to ruin his reputation for financial gain while failing to support their claims. Kesha to date has never verified the allegations in this case — even when given the opportunity in her affidavit.”
Other celebrities to defend Kesha amid the legal drama include Mariska Hargitay, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, Jack Antonoff and Miley Cyrus. On Tuesday, February 23, Kesha thanked her many supporters via Instagram.
“I am beyond words in gratitude. thank you is not enough but it is all I have. a million times over and forever thank you. the support I have received has left my face swollen from tears. I love you all so much,” she wrote, foreshadowing that “a statement too large for this format is coming.”
