Entertainment

Lady Gaga Dedicates Oscars Performance To Kesha

by Caitlin Flynn

On Friday, Feb. 19, a New York judge ruled against Kesha's request for an injunction that would have allowed her to break her contract with Sony and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald. In October 2014, the singer sued Dr. Luke alleging that he raped her and has subjected her to physical and verbal issue. Dr. Luke vehemently denies these claims and has countersued Kesha for defamation. In the days since the ruling, a number of celebrities have rallied around the singer and expressed their support on social media. And on Sunday, Lady Gaga said that she is dedicating her Oscars performance to Kesha.

Lady Gaga's tribute is especially meaningful because she'll be performing the song "Till It Happens To You" from The Hunting Ground, a documentary about campus rape.

Lady Gaga tweeted a message to Kesha on Sunday evening, writing, "@kesharose I'll be thinking of u 2nite. This is not over we'll stand by u until you are free to live a HAPPY life. Everyone deserves that."

I'm sure Gaga's performance will be amazing as always, but it's extra special that she's dedicating it to her friend. Kesha has made clear that the support of friends and fans has meant the world to her during this difficult time.

Following the court's ruling on Kesha's injunction, Dr. Luke's attorney released a statement to Rolling Stone, which reads:

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.

Kesha's lawyer released the following 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.

An attorney for Sony told the New York Times ,

Sony has made it possible for Kesha to record without any connection, involvement or interaction with Luke whatsoever, but Sony is not in a position to terminate the contractual relationship between Luke and Kesha. Sony is doing everything it can to support the artist in these circumstances, but is legally unable to terminate the contract to which it is not a party.