What happened to Kesha?

Warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault and other sensitive subject matter. Please exercise caution while reading.

Kesha dominated the radio waves in the late 2000’s through to the early 2010’s, however, all was not as it seemed as the singer would make some shocking revelations that led to a great deal of controversy.

Kesha Rose Sebert signed with Kemosabe records in 2005 at the age of 18. She rose to prominence around 2009 after featuring on a Flo Rida track before seeing huge success with the song “TiK ToK” which sat on top of the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks. Her debut album, Animal made her a household name and for a while it seemed like her music was inescapable with her second studio album, Warrior, releasing in 2012. However, it would be some time until her next album as the pop singer would go through a very public and traumatic lawsuit.

What happened to Kesha?

Towards the end of 2014 Kesha put her music writing on hold as she became involved in a lawsuit against record producer Dr. Luke. She accused the producer of sexual assault, battery, emotional abuse, gender violence and more, starting in 2005 where she claims he drugged and raped her, and going on for a period of 10 years.

The lawsuit against Dr. Luke

Kesha’s court battle against Lukasz Gottwald went on for almost a year with the singer seeking a preliminary injunction to release her from her contract with Kemosabe records (owned by Gottwald). Unfortunately for Kesha, the judge did not rule in her favor; the case was dismissed in 2016 due to a lack of evidence as well as the fact that the statute of limitations had run out on two of the most specific rape allegations.

At the time Kesha received financial for the legal battle from the likes of Taylor Swift, whilst many musicians like Katy Perry distanced themselves from Dr. Luke, although her motivation for doing so was more to avoid taking sides according to an article from Like Kim Petras, took the producer’s side on the situation. But for the most part, there was a public outcry when it was ruled that Kesha would not be released from her contract, meaning she would have to continue working for the man she claims sexually assaulted her. 

After the lawsuit

Things only continued to get worse, although Kesha returned to making music for Kemosabe record, releasing her third album, Rainbow, in 2017, she was now being sued by Gottwald for defamation. The legal battle between them went on until 2023 when, according to an article from NPR, they reached a settlement in June, although the details were not disclosed.

At the very end of 2023, Variety reported that Kesha had been released from her contract with Kemosabe records after releasing five full albums under the label, her most recent album, Gag Order, released earlier that year. 

The singer posted a TikTok on December 21st 2023 along with the caption, “I haven’t felt this free since I was 18.” In February she signed with Crush Management, and has announced she’s writing more music — so hopefully we’ll be seeing a Kesha comeback in the coming months.