At the 2016 Brit Awards Wednesday night in England, Adele showed Kesha support during her acceptance speech after she won Best British Female Solo Artist. "To come back after so long away and be so warmly received means so much," she said." Then, the 27-year-old "When We Were Young" singer added, "I'd like to take this moment to publicly support Kesha. Thank you very much."
Adele joins a slew of celebrities who have shown support for the "Your Love Is My Drug" singer, following the outcome of her request for an injunction that would severe ties with her recording company. On Friday, Feb. 19, a New York-based judge ruled that Kesha cannot break her contract with Sony. Under the record label, Kesha worked with Dr. Luke (real name: Lukasz Gottwald), who she accused in October 2014 of raping her at 18 years old. Gottwald has repeatedly denied these accusations and countersued Kesha for defamation. Ever since the judge's ruling, there has been an outpouring of love and support for Kesha from her family, friends, fans, and many celebrities, including Jack Antonoff, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Reese Witherspoon, and Anne Hathaway.
Watch Adele's speech from Wednesday night's Brit Awards for yourself below:
Gottwald's attorney, Christina Lepera, released the following statement to Rolling Stone in response to the court's ruling:
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.
Dr. Luke's lawyer released a new statement on 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.
Dr. Luke also expressed himself on Twitter, where he continued to defend himself and stated that he did not rape Kesha.
As for the musician, her lawyer, Mark Geragos, released this statement to Billboard in October 2014:
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.
More recently, Kesha took to Instagram to thank everyone for their support. She wrote:
I am beyond words in gratitude. thank you is not enough but it is all I have. a million times over and forever thank you. the support I have received has left my face swollen from tears. I love you all so much. <3 a statement too large for this format is coming....
Sony and Kemosabe Records, Dr. Luke's label housed under Sony, told the presiding judge that Kesha's claims are "transparent and misguided attempt to renegotiate her contracts," according to The Hollywood Reporter .
