On Friday, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich denied Kesha's request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily render her contract with Sony producer Lukasz Gottwald nullified. The decisions comes after Kesha accused Gottwald in 2014 — known in the industry as Dr. Luke — of raping her when she was 18, and of emotionally abusing her for the decade that followed. Considering the circumstances, photos of Kesha crying in the courtroom Friday as the judge came to a decision about her contract with Dr. Luke has led to fan outrage on the pop star's behalf.
While the court sided with Sony, who, according to the New York Daily News, Kesha has a contract with to produce six more albums — Judge Kornreich reportedly believed Sony would suffer "irreparable harm" if Kesha's contract with the company were to be broken — the "Tik Tok" singer's fans are firmly on her side. Not only did they show up to support Kesha as she exited the courthouse, they have taken to social media to speak out against her being forced to continue working under the contract. Kesha has been left in career limbo since she initially filed suit against Gottwald and Sony in 2014. The court's decision to side with Sony is sure to prolong Kesha's troubles, but her fans will stay by her side if their reactions to the heartbreaking courtroom photo is any indication of their loyalty.
As for Gottwald, at the time of Kesha's allegations against him, he released the following statement: "As part of the effort to get out of the Gottwald Recording Agreement, Kesha and Pebe have also orchestrated a campaign of publishing false and shocking accusations against Gottwald to extort Plaintiffs into letting Kesha out of the Gottwald Recording Agreement."
Additionally, in 2014 when the lawsuit was initially filed, Kesha's lawyer Mark Geragos told Billboard:
This lawsuit is a wholehearted effort by Kesha to regain control of her music career and her personal freedom after suffering for ten years as a victim of mental manipulation, emotional abuse and sexual assault at the hands of Dr. Luke. The facts presented in our lawsuit paint a picture of a man who is controlling and willing to commit horrible acts of abuse in an attempt to intimidate an impressionable, talented, young female artist into submission for his personal gain. Kesha is focused on moving her life and her career beyond this terrible time.
For fans, Kesha's courtroom photos have sparked strong reactions. Many took to Twitter to speak out with words of dissent against the decision and support for the star.
The love for Kesha is apparent in the strong outpouring of support she has received. Hopefully, her fans' love and support will carry her through the rest of this legal battle.
Update: In response to the court's ruling, Dr. Luke's attorney Christine Lepera released a statement to The Rolling Stone:
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. The sound decision Friday by the Court in denying Kesha's motion for an injunction made it clear Kesha's allegations of purported abuse were unconvincing and that she had no basis to void record contracts and copyrights… The goal of Kesha's counsel throughout has been to obtain a more lucrative contract through a shameless campaign of outrageous claims they will never stand behind in a court of law.
As Dr. Luke has said repeatedly, the allegations against him are outright lies that have been advanced to extort a contract renegotiation and money. 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… It will further be shown that the incidents alleged never happened.
