Pop singer Kesha’s ongoing battle with record producer Luke “Dr. Luke” Gottwald hit another roadblock Friday when a New York court ruled that she’s not allowed to leave her contract with Sony Music despite Kesha’s allegations Gottwald sexually assaulted her.
The singer, known for her glittery party hits like “Tik Tok” and “Blah Blah Blah,” is accusing Gottwald of “sexually, mentally and physically” abusing her, TMZ reported. She’s sought an injunction to dissolve her Sony contract.
The court sided with Sony because the company has offered to let her work with another producer. Granting Kesha’s request “would undermine the state’s laws governing contracts and the court couldn’t do that,” according to the Daily News.
“My instinct is to do the commercially reasonable thing,: said the judge, reported MTV News. “There has been no showing of irreparable harm. She’s being given opportunity to record.”
Kesha was seen sobbing while exiting the Manhattan courtroom, but while the judge may not be on her side, the Internet certainly is. Fans started the hashtag #FreeKesha that began trending after the ruling on Twitter, garnering more than 500,000 tweets, according to the social network.
The hashtag was ground zero from fans blasting the court and Sony:
Her contract states she’s to record six. more. albums. for the man who assaulted her. This is sick. #freekesha https://t.co/fiAF64aptA
— Jade Hayden (@JadeHayden) February 19, 2016
Music is a way to tell your story and heal when it’s to hard to speak about. Sony literally took her voice in every way possible #FreeKesha — Lauren Lavoie (@LittleRedCactus) February 19, 2016
Michael Jackson warned us all
Sony is the worst thing ever#FreeKesha pic.twitter.com/11HNg5pqyN— Jasmine (@sacredzjm) February 19, 2016
Sony didn’t escape the Internet’s ire, either. Both #SonySupportsRape and #SonySupportsRapists were also trending on Twitter:
The injustice of this is literally beyond words. #SonySupportsRapists #sonysupportsrape #freekesha — Félicité (@fizfizfiz) February 19, 2016
RAPE IS NEVER THE VICTIMS FAULT.
REPEAT AFTER ME.
RAPE IS NEVER THE VICTIMS FAULT.#SONYSUPPORTSRAPE pic.twitter.com/5bX7PECLEp
— lovewins (@ISupportLarry) February 19, 2016
ur told to report rape and sexual assault, but when you do ur denied closure and freedom from that person #SonySupportsRapists #FreeKesha — chelsea. (@earth2chels) February 19, 2016
Even though Sony’s brand is being dragged online, music industry analyst Bob Lefsetz said the company won’t be significantly damaged from the ruling or reaction. “It was a court ruling based on law, not on emotion,” he told Digiday.
More in Marketing
Hyve Group buys the Possible conference, and will add a meeting element to it in the future
Hyve Group, which owns such events as ShopTalk and FinTech Meetup, has agreed to purchase Beyond Ordinary Events, the organizing body behind Possible.
Agencies and marketers point to TikTok in the running to win ‘first real social Olympics’
The video platform is a crucial part of paid social plans this summer, say advertisers and agency execs.
Where Kamala Harris and Donald Trump stand on big tech issues
The next U.S. president is going to have a tough job of reining in social media companies’ dominance and power enough to satisfy lawmakers and users, while still encouraging free speech, privacy and innovation.