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“Freedom” for an Apology? Kesha Says No

There was no way this was going to go over well.

On Instagram Sunday, Kesha posted a note to her fans, saying she’s been offered her freedom –probably from her contract with Kemosabe Records– if she just apologized for saying her producer, Dr. Luke, sexually and emotionally assaulted her.

So, yeah, that’s not happening. It might have been a tempting offer, at one point in her life, but the argument can and probably should be made that she’s come too far and said too much to simply shrug her shoulders, say “whoops, sorry!” in public and then return to a recording studio.

But when, exactly, was this offer made?

Within a few hours of Kesha’s post, someone allegedly close to the case told Rolling Stone the offer had been made “a couple months ago” during a conversation between Kesha and Dr. Luke’s respective legal teams. It was suggested that her contract would be terminated, freeing her to record on any other label with any other producer. Remember, Kesha has said all she wants is to record and release new music but feels anything she might record while still under contract of Kemosabe, an imprint of Sony Music, would not get any kind of support from Sony. To go back to the studio now, in the midst of her lawsuit against him and his counter suit against her and her mother, would be futile, according to Kesha and her attorney, Mark Geragos.

Later Sunday, a spokesperson for Dr. Luke released a statement reiterating what a New York court said in February, that “Kesha is already free to record without Dr. Luke, and that she has not presented any facts supporting her claims” that, for the better part of a decade since he signed her to his label, Dr. Luke assaulted her. The spokesperson continued that all of Kesha’s evidence, including a taped statement, “show her allegations are false. The only thing Kesha is not free to do is to continue to lie about Dr. Luke through publicity stunts and outrageous smears, ignoring the fact that by her own free will she went to work and entered into new contracts with Dr. Luke years after this ‘incident’ supposedly happened. Her goal all along has been solely personal enrichment by seeking to break contracts that brought her success and millions so she can enter into more lucrative ones. We look forward to our day in court holding Kesha accountable for her lies.”

When that day in court will be is unknown at this point. The last we heard, Kesha’s attorney was filing an appeal in the hopes of overturning a judge’s denial of her injunction that would have freed her to record elsewhere.

Amber Healy

I write about music policy and lawsuits because they're endlessly fascinating.

Amber Healy has 518 posts and counting. See all posts by Amber Healy

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