To say that Kesha has been through a lot in her personal and professional life as an artist would be an understatement. On Tuesday, though, the pop artist suffered a disappointing blow when the New York Court of Appeals upheld a judge's decision to reject her counterclaims against her former producer Dr. Luke, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Since the traumatic experiences she endured at the hands of Dr. Luke, it seemed like things were beginning to turn around for the singer/songwriter. In the summer of 2017, Kesha releases the triumphant single "Praying" which served as both a beacon of hope for abuse survivors as well as her own personal retaliation song. With the release of her full album Rainbow shortly after, it appeared that Kesha was making progress in her fight to free herself from Dr. Luke's devious hold.
This latest legal development is a tough one for Kesha, though. Dr. Luke is suing her for defamation, citing her allegations of sexual abuse, but Kesha has since attempted to file counterclaims in order to free herself from any remaining contracts that links the two to each other.
Kesha wrote in her countersuit, "You can get a divorce from an abusive spouse, you can dissolve a partnership if the relationship becomes irreconcilable. The same opportunity—to be liberated from the physical, emotional, and financial bondage of a destructive relationship—should be available to a recording artist."
Unfortunately, this countersuit has been rejected yet again today. Back in March of 2017, New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich prevented Kesha from pursuing her counterclaims, and today's decision upholds Kornreich's initial ruling, calling the claims "palpably insufficient and devoid of merit."
"Her counterclaim seeking declaratory relief terminating the agreements on the ground of impossibility and impracticability of performance was speculative, contradicted by her own allegations that she had continued performing under the agreements and, as to at least one of the agreements, the impossibility was not produced by an unanticipated event that could not have been foreseen or guarded against," a statement from New York's First Department reads.
As of now, the only impending legal proceedings will be related to Dr. Luke's defamation suit, but hopefully with the continued support of the music community and those close to her, she will continue to fight to free herself from this toxic partnership.
