WHY KESHA’S BATTLE ISN’T JUST ABOUT HER

Social media was dominated by the #freekesha movement last weekend and all through the following week. This sparked after Kesha was denied an injunction that would have allowed her to work on music without Sony or Dr. Luke. The battle for freedom began in 2014, after Kesha checked herself into rehab for an eating disorder. Instantly speculation began, leading many to believe that Luke was responsible for her bulimia. One account claims that while on the set of her music video, Luke compared her body to a “f*cking refrigerator” and in turn put her on a 2-week juice cleanse. After Kesha completed treatment, she swiftly sued Dr. Luke claiming rape and abuse. Luke then counter-sued saying Kesha was only doing this in an attempt to get out of her contract with him. After that, the issue stayed dormant. No one spoke up for Kesha, no one even really talked about it. Kesha screamed “RAPE” and no one cared. But following Friday, after a judge denied her injunction, stating she had to “do the commercially right thing”, a social media frenzy sparked. Support for Kesha began pouring out like never before. Top artists like Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Lorde and Iggy Azalea all took to social media to show their support for Kesha (just a few artists of the many). Later artists like Demi Lovato and Adele voiced their own support. In a generous effort, Taylor Swift donated $250,000 to Kesha to help her “in this trying time”. While the support is undeniably great, the problem still remains – a 28 year old woman is forced to work with her alleged abuser in an effort to do the commercially right thing. A woman claims she was raped, and a judge basically says that money is more important than her own safety. This case is a horrific one. Whether or not Kesha’s claims are valid (I am prone to think they are), what this says about rape in our culture is disgusting. People are all too quick to doubt that the rape happened, blame the woman for what she was wearing or what she was drinking, or even worse, they just don’t care. That seems to be the case here. Kesha says she was raped and the judge just doesn’t care. They will not let her get away from her abuser, or her contract, simply for the reason of profit. People are angry about this, and rightfully so. Kesha should not be forced to work with her abuser, or anyone who did nothing to stop it (Ahem – Sony Records). But while Kesha is the individual victim in this battle, her battle is bigger than she is. Her battle is one for all people who have been raped or abused, her battle is for those who weren’t believed, who were branded liars and those who were made slaves to their abusers so that the money could still be made. Kesha herself even stated this in a personal message she posted to her Facebook. If you haven’t heard about Kesha’s battle, look it up, be informed. And most of all, realize that we still live in a culture where money is more important than a person’s basic human rights. Money is more important than Kesha. Money is more important than rape.