Not giving up. Four weeks after New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich denied Kesha’s motion to be released from her six-record contract with Sony and Dr. Luke back in February, the pop star has fought back by filing paperwork on Monday, March 21, to appeal the court ruling.
“Plaintiff seeks reversal of the Order on the following grounds,” states the singer’s latest court papers, obtained by Us Weekly. “First, the Court erred in basing its decision on its finding that Kesha could record without interference from Gottwald. Although it recognized that ‘slavery was done away with a long time ago’ and that ‘[y]ou 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.”
As Us Weekly previously reported, Sony has stated that the “TiK ToK” songstress, 29, is able to work with producers other than Dr. Luke (real name: Lukasz Gottwald), who Kesha alleges emotionally, physically and sexually abused her.
However, during an interview with Billboard published on March 10, Kesha’s mom, Rosemary Patricia “Pebe” Sebert, claimed that Gottwald, 42, still has full reign over Kesha’s future releases, as he is head of Kemosabe Records — the label she’s signed to under the music giant.
“Kesha’s allowed to work with another producer. But Luke gets to approve them,” Sebert told the magazine. “He gets to approve of anyone she works with. He has final say over everything. … Luke almost destroyed us. And he has done it intentionally.”
Dr. Luke has strongly refuted his former collaborator’s claims of rape and abuse. “I didn’t rape Kesha and I have never had sex with her,” he tweeted on February 22. “Kesha and I were friends for many years and she was like my little sister.”
His lawyers reiterated the denial in a statement to Us. “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. Nor has she ever offered a credible explanation as to why she would have signed a second recording agreement, recorded two albums and an EP and signed a publishing deal with Dr. Luke after allegedly being sexually abused. It will further be shown that the incidents alleged never happened.”
A new court date has yet to be scheduled. In the interim, Kesha continues to receive an incredible amount of support from fellow musicians. Celebrities such as Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato have come to the former chart topper’s defense, and Taylor Swift donated $250,000 to the star during her legal battle.
