Music

Taylor Swift gives $250,000 to Kesha's fight against alleged rapist Dr. Luke

by Jesse Locke

On February 19th, a judge ruled that Kesha will remain locked into a six-album contract with her label Sony. Part of that deal will force her to continue working with Dr. Luke, the producer she accused of raping her at age 18 and continuing to abuse her for the last decade.

The now 28-year-old pop star broke into tears in the Manhattan courtroom as fans gathered outside to chant “Free Kesha!” That protest has continued to pick up steam online with over 200,000 supporters signing a Change.org petition to boycott Sony and stand with the artist.

Now, Taylor Swift has donated $250,000 to Kesha “to help with any of her financial needs during this trying time.” A spokesperson for Swift told Rolling Stone that “when Taylor saw the heartbreaking courtroom photos of Kesha, it was then that she knew she needed to do something.”

Fellow artists such as Lady Gaga, Lorde, and Grimes have publicly voiced their support of Kesha as well.

Kesha’s mother Pebe Sebert has shared her own support and gratitude.

Demi Lovato also took to Twitter to challenge and inspire others to come forward.

Dr. Luke (real name Lukasz Gottwald) has yet to be criminally charged. His lawyer Christine Lepara has issued a new statement to Rolling Stone accusing Kesha of extortion and restating that Sony has invested $11 million in promotion for her music.

“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,” said Lepara. “Any claim that she isn’t ‘free’ is a myth.”

“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 continued. “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.

Lepara denies the charges against Gottwald’s rape and abuse, yet incriminating information on his actions continues to be uncovered.