It's no secret that Lady Gaga is a big supporter of Kesha as she fights to be freed from her contract with the producer who allegedly raped and abused her, Dr. Luke. After dedicating her Oscars performance of "Til It Happens to You" to the "Timber" singer, Gaga further explained just why she supports Kesha in an interview with Carson Daly, saying that her friend and fellow pop star is being "very publicly shamed."
Speaking to Daly on his AMP Radio 97.1 show (via People) on Monday (March 7), Gaga cited her own rape by a producer at the age of 19 as why she connects so well with Kesha.
"I think that people should just know that there's so much more than what meets the eye in a case like that," Gaga said. "I feel like she's being very publicly shamed for something that happens in the music industry all the time, to women and men. I just want to stand by her side because I can't watch another woman that went through what I've been through suffer."
And Gaga doesn't just support Kesha as a fellow singer. She claims that they're close friends who speak every day.
"I talk to her every day. I'm friends with her personally, and what I'm watching her go through is not only something I've been through but something that's really devastating to witness. Somebody that has such a beautiful light within them, so much talent to give - just to see that light burn out because they feel that no one's listening to them, I feel that it's my responsibility to stand up for her when there's a lot of people that are not listening to her plea for love, for people to have compassion and empathy," she said.
Gaga also called out the music industry for allowing sexual abuse to happen, and blamed the lack of organization among her peers.
"In any other business, if you were to report that anything happened to you to the human resources department, it would be dealt with. But we don't have a human resources department, we don't have a union as artists, we're just fighting for ourselves. If we don't stick together, our voices just won't be heard."
Kesha is battling Dr. Luke in court, whom she accuses of abusing and raping her over the course of their professional relationship. Dr. Luke, real name Lukasz Gottwald, denies any abuse.
