After facing a lot of backlash in the wake of the #FreeKesha movement, Sony Music has finally released a statement on the Kesha and Dr. Luke court battle. The company claims it is doing everything that it can to support the artist despite the rampant rage from Kesha's fans, but says it is unable to fully terminate the contract.
According to Rolling Stone, Sony is not able to completely terminate Kesha’s contract with Dr. Luke because it is held by his personal company, Kasz Money. Kasz Money reportedly holds a completely separate deal with the Sony RCA/Jive company. Due to this separate deal, criminal charges have as of yet to be filed against Dr. Luke since the label is unable to terminate the contract on only allegations.
“Sony has made it possible for Kesha to record without any connection, involvement or interaction with Luke whatsoever, but Sony is not in a position to terminate the contractual relationship between Luke and Kesha,” the lawyer charged with representing the label, Scott Edelman, said in a statement to The New York Times.
Edelman further said in a statement, “Sony is doing everything it can to support the artist in these circumstances, but is legally unable to terminate the contract to which it is not a party.”
The #FreeKesha movement has already reached far, and the likes of Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, and Lorde amongst others have come out to show support for the singer. Taylor Swift even donated $250,000 in order to help Kesha with her legal fees and Adele mentioned the case in her acceptance speech at the Brit Awards.
Dr. Luke’s camp, for their part, vehemently deny any allegations of sexual assault or mental abuse on the producer’s part.
His attorney, Christine Lepara, released a strong statement against Kesha’s claims, saying, “Tellingly, Kesha never reported any purported abuse or rape to any law enforcement authority, or even to Sony Music, and further swore under oath in another matter, while accompanied by her team of lawyers, that it never occurred.”
