Just days ago, a judge denied Kesha’s request to be released from her contract with her record label and her producer Lukasz Gottwald, on the grounds that he had drugged and raped the musician on multiple occasions. The decision gave rise to the #FreeKesha hashtag, and celebrities everywhere have come together to show their support for the artist.
Jack Antonoff, who worked on a number of songs on Taylor Swift’s 1989, has stepped forward to offer Kesha his help.
hey @kesharose — don’t know what the legal specifics are, but if you want to make something together & then leak it for everyone I’m around
— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) February 22, 2016
.. @kesharose or just make something and wait on it till that creep can’t block you anymore. standing offer … https://t.co/jHMAPA3xSY
— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) February 22, 2016
He’s not the only one. Zedd also took to Twitter to voice his support.
@KeshaRose very very sorry to hear about the whole situation. I’ll be happy to produce a song for you if you want my help.
— Zedd (@Zedd) February 22, 2016
Aside from offers to produce music, Kesha has received an outpouring of support from other stars and friends. Taylor Swift recently donated $250,000 to help pay for Kesha’s legal fees, and earlier this morning, Lena Dunham published an essay in her e-newsletter, Lenny, describing how she became physically ill upon hearing of the verdict in Kesha’s case, and how she is “mad as hell.”
Producer Dr. Luke’s lawyers argue that any claims that Kesha isn’t “free” are false. “The New York County Supreme Court on Friday found that Kesha is already ‘free’ to record and release music without working with Dr. Luke as a producer if she doesn’t want to. Any claim that she isn’t ‘free’ is a myth,” they said in a statement to US Weekly. “Dr. Luke and his companies invested in Kesha’s success through their contributions, Sony Music has already spent over $11 million promoting Kesha, and Sony Music and its label Kemosabe Records are committed to continuing to promote her work.”
But as Dunham explains in Lenny, “Although the company insists that Kesha and Gottwald never need to be in a room together and that he will allow her to record without his direct involvement, they are minimizing what Kesha says regarding how Gottwald’s continued involvement in her career would affect her physical well-being and psychological safety.”
Ultimately, the priority should be on Kesha’s well-being—so whether she goes on to produce music with Antonoff or Zedd or somebody else, we are hoping she’ll come out on top and that this nightmare ends soon for her.