NEW YORK CITY, Feb. 19, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Singer Kesha broke down in tears in Manhattan Supreme Court Friday when a judge denied her request for a preliminary injunction that would have temporarily nullified her contract with Sony Records ─ and freed her from working with the man she says raped her, the NY Daily News is reporting.
The 28-year-old “Tik Tok” singer says she’s too afraid to continue collaborating with super producer Dr. Luke, whose real name is Luke Gottwald.
Kesha claims he holds her exclusive contract, and even though Sony has offered to let her work with another producer. Kesha said she feared the company wouldn’t promote her music if she’s paired with a different partner.
Kesha Rose Sebert claims that Dr. Luke drugged her with a “sober pill” and raped her shortly after her 18th birthday in California. He was never criminally charged.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich said she thought Sony would suffer irreparable harm if Kesha was not compelled to abide by a contract that requires her to make six more albums with the company.
Kesha had asked the judge to issue a preliminary injunction that would bar Sony from forcing her to work with Dr. Luke and to cancel her contracts.
The NY Daily News went on to report that the judge said granting the request would undermine the state’s laws governing contracts, and the court couldn’t do that.
Kornreich also noted that Sony had offered to let Kesha work with another producer.
Kesha’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, argued that Sony’s promise was “illusory” because even if the recordings were made, the record company wouldn’t promote them. He contended that Sony had more invested in Dr. Luke than in Kesha, and it would do everything to protect him because he makes them more money.
The judge said Kesha’s lawyer had offered nothing concrete to back up his “speculative” argument.
The lawyers also argued Thursday over motions by Dr. Luke and Sony to dismiss the underlying case in which Kesha contends that Dr. Luke abused her emotionally and psychologically for a decade, forcing her to take a sabbatical and go into rehab in January 2014.
The NY Daily News said the judge was critical of those claims as well, saying she didn’t think the information provided by Kesha’s lawyers was detailed enough to keep her civil rights, sexual harassment and discrimination claims alive. However, the judge postponed making a decision on the dismissal motions.
Earlier, fans sang Kesha tunes in the cold outside the courthouse. More than 119,000 supporters have signed an online petition to Sony Music President Doug Morris to allow her not to work with Dr. Luke.
“Nobody should have to work with somebody who has abused her like this,” said Alyssa Johnson, 19, of New Milford Conn. “We’re here to show support.”
