Sexual assault and abuse are hot topics, especially on college campuses. Most people would agree that sexual assault is in no way acceptable and should therefore be punishable, and victims should be helped in any way that they can. However, when money and fame is involved these opinions can change.
Recently, there has been a lot of controversy over pop singer Kesha’s lawsuit and allegations against her producer, Dr. Luke, born Lukasz Gottwald. The singer has accused Dr. Luke of abusing her sexually, verbally, and emotionally and, as a result, has gone to court in order to get out of her recording contract with him, an extremely expensive contract in which she must produce six more albums with Dr. Luke as her producer. Kesha’s claims are not out of the ordinary; according to ABC News, “Kesha alleged that Dr. Luke, 42, supplied her drugs and alcohol in an effort to take advantage of her and that he ‘cruelly and incessantly’ berated her about her physical appearance. She also claimed that the alleged verbal abuse contributed to her eating disorder, for which she entered treatment in early 2014.”
As unfortunate as it is, this case has become a ‘he-said-she-said’ in light of no ruling as to whether Dr. Luke did in fact sexually assault Kesha. With the amount of money riding on this contract, the judge ruled to deny Kesha her request. When word of this got out, many influential female artists such as Demi Lovato, Adele, and Taylor Swift showed their support for Kesha and vowed to help her in any way they can. So, we’re asking you, the students of UMD: what do you think? Would you stand behind Kesha like so many artists already have?
Carly Friedman, a freshman criminal justice major at UMD said, “It is outrageous that the judge ruled against Kesha. The backlash that she has received from speaking out about what has happened to her is appalling. Victims often find it extremely hard to face their abuser, and Kesha was trying to help herself by getting out of a bad situation.”
After hearing about the amount of money that was involved in making Kesha’s career -somewhere in the neighborhood of $60 million – New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich made the decision that since Dr. Luke has agreed to detach himself from the making of her upcoming albums, there is no reason why Kesha cannot continue to record under the contract she is currently under with his record label Kemosabe Records, which is a part of Sony.
A freshman computer science major at UMD agreed with the judge; the deal that Dr. Luke has claimed he will make with Kesha so that she does not have to come in any contact with him seems fair. Since it is sill unknown whether Dr. Luke and Kesha had any sexual relations, this new agreement seems like the easiest and fairest compromise.
For many victims, their lives are spun completely out of control after they experience abuse. Kesha has become a role model for people who might also fear facing their abuser. With the support of other celebrities, she has shown the world that through all of this she has stayed strong. The denial of the judge to release Kesha from her contract sends the message that it does not matter what a person has gone through, when a lot of money and powerful people are involved, the easiest solution might not be the one that keeps all parties safe.
So, students of the University of Maryland, what do you think? Given what has been happening to women all over the world and the responses that their claims have gotten, would you support Kesha? Would you support her and the many other victims of sexual assault who have not gotten justice?