Having told a New York judge that her career is in jeopardy, Kesha Rose Sebert is moving forward with arguments why a judge should issue a preliminary injunction and allow her to record an album without Dr. Luke’s involvement.
The two are in the midst of a heated legal battle where she claims being the victim of sexual abuse and he frames the dispute as nothing more than an attempt to extort him in order to get out from contracts with Luke’s Kemosabe Records label, housed under Sony.
Court papers first revealed by The Hollywood Reporter in September showed the injunction bid. Kesha is presenting affidavits from others in the entertainment industry declaring that mainstream labels won’t take a chance on the pop singer at the moment — largely out of fear of being sued for tortious interference — and careers for entertainers can have short windows.
What’s new in court papers filed on Friday is Kesha telling a judge that she has written letters to Sony and Dr. Luke requesting to record an album for Sony without Kemosabe or Dr. Luke.
“The letters in response indicated both Sony and Dr. Luke believe the exclusivity clauses remain in effect, they will not agree to refrain from enforcement, and Sony specifically will not work with Kesha unless she agrees to work with Kemosabe and Dr. Luke’s company, KMI,” states Mark Geragos, her attorney in a legal brief.
In an October 13 letter, an attorney for Sony firmly rejected Kesha’s proposal and also wrote that it would not be appropriate to engage further on the issue in light of Kesha’s amended claims.
That’s a reference to the fact that Kesha is not only targeting Dr. Luke over alleged abuse, but she’s now suing Sony as well, claiming the music giant has supported and ratified the hit producer’s behavior and put female artists in physical danger. Sony responds that it has been “caught in the crossfire” and that what Kesha is doing amounts to a “transparent and misguided attempt to renegotiate her contracts.”
“Kesha now faces an abysmal decision: work with her alleged abuser…or idly and passively wait as her career tick-tocks away,” writes her attorney. “She is precluded from working in perpetuity because the term of her contract can only be satisfied if she records three more albums. Kesha needs the Court’s assistance.”
At the time the preliminary injunction bid was first presented, a spokesperson for Dr. Luke told THR, “If Kesha now regrets her career being mired in legal proceedings, it’s entirely her making. It was Kesha who chose to file a lawsuit falsely alleging abuse to gain advantage in contract negotiations, and now she must accept the consequences of her improper actions. As long as she continues to stand by her false claims of abuse against Dr. Luke and remains in breach of her contracts, he will continue to protect his professional and personal reputation, as well as his contractual rights, in a court of law. He looks forward to obtaining judgments in his favor.”
