Entertainment

Jack Antonoff Offers Support To Kesha

by Maitri Suhas

After a New York Supreme Court judge ruled against Kesha's plea to release herself from her contract with her alleged abuser and producer Dr. Luke Kemosabe (real name Lukasz Gottwald), many celebrities and fellow musicians have lent their support publicly to the singer to let her know she's not alone. Along with her many fans and supporters, celebs are also voicing their support on Twitter with the hashtag #FreeKesha. The latest to offer help is Jack Antonoff, who tweeted at the 28-year old singer that he would produce music for her and "leak it" (so as not to technically violate her contract) or just "wait until that creep can't block [her] anymore." Antonoff's public support follows in the footsteps of Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, Fiona Apple, Lorde, and Kesha's legions of fans and supporters worldwide.

In a series of tweets on Monday, Antonoff reached out to Kesha and offered his help and resources, although, as Vulture notes, Antonoff's band Bleachers is signed a Sony subsidiary, the label RCA Records, and a leak could complicate Kesha's already horrific situation. But he does have clout: he's worked with other big female acts like, "Grimes, Troye Sivan, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Sia, and Taylor Swift." Swift herself donated $250,000 to Kesha after the decision was ruled on Friday, February 19 in favor of Dr. Luke.

A bevy of other musicians have voiced their outrage, sadness and support for Kesha, many of them on Twitter themselves. Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Lorde and Haim (among others) have reached out.

Fiona Apple, patron saint of angry girls everywhere, posted a photo of herself with a sign of solidarity and support, which has been reposted by the likes of Miley Cyrus and Margaret Cho.

As for Kesha, the 28-year old singer says she is "overwhelmed" by the support she has received from her fans and her colleagues and friends in the music industry who are not only condemning the legal decision but Sony's complicity by not releasing her from her contract with her accused abuser. "Thank you for all the support in my legal case animals," she tweeted on Thursday. "I love all of you."

Noam Galai/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

After filing a lawsuit against Dr. Luke in 2014, Kesha's lawyer, Geragos, told Billboard in a statement:

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.

Update: Dr. Luke's lawyer released a new statement on Monday, Feb. 22, which can be read in part below:

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.