Jennifer Lopez has recently come under fire after she debuted her new single, Ain’t Your Mama during the American Idol final, which was produced by Dr. Luke.

The song, which canters female independence and empowerment with a catchy beat, has been somewhat tarnished when it was revealed that the now notorious Dr. Luke was a producer on the ballad. For those that don’t know, Dr. Luke has been embroiled in controversy, following accusations made by Kesha, in which she alleges that the producer had been physically and emotionally abusing her over the span of ten years, with her now stuck in a contract which binds her with her alleged sexual abuser.

Understandably, people are now doing their best to boycott songs produced by the alleged rapist, which is occasionally difficult to do since he has produced all the songs. This is precisely why J.Lo has been copping so much shit, presumably because people assume that she actively sought out and worked with Dr. Luke knowing full well what a horrible person he allegedly is.

Apparently not at all, according to Meghan Trainor who actually wrote the song, and has now come to J.Lo’s defence saying that Jenny from the Block had no idea that Dr. Luke was involved at all. Trainor explained how it actually went down in an interview with Digital Spy, as well as highlighting her thoughts on J.Lo’s treatment by fans and media.

“[It was] not fair on her, not at all, I texted her the song and she had no idea – she thought I did it alone by myself at my house, which a lot of people think because I do do that. I sent it to her and said, ‘Do you like the song?’ and she said, ‘I love the song, my kid loves the song – he’s made me play it five times already so I know it’s a hit – when can I cut it?’, so I said immediately, ‘Whenever you want!'”

So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth! Does that mean that people should direct all of their criticisms at Meghan Trainor? As much as I would like to say yes, probably not. Trainor and Lopez are both attached to the same Sony sub-label as Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records, and after everyone very publicly witnessed what happens when you don’t listen to what your label’s bosses tell you, as we unfortunately saw with Kesha, it’s not surprising that both Jennifer Lopez and Meghan Trainor are trying to put as much of a positive spin as possible on their forced collaboration with Dr. Luke.

Maybe instead of blaming all of the women involved, people of the internet should instead direct their spite at Dr. Luke and Epic Records CEO L.A Reid, both of who are the true puppet masters of this unpalatable scenario.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x5L1xoca1c]

Main image: fuse.tv

For almost two years, pop star Kesha has been tangled in a legal web, fighting simply to cut ties with the man who she says abused her for a decade. While there is much support for Kesha, there are the few commentators who continue to point out that her former producer Lukasz Gottwald (Dr. Luke) is only allegedly a rapist. Alleged, because while Kesha has recalled the abuse time and again, she has no physical proof and apparently a victim’s word is still not enough.

Late last week, a court denied Kesha to ability to break her Sony contract, which rules that she has to work with Dr. Luke on all forthcoming music. After a decade of alleged abuse which ultimately lead to eating disorders and rehab, Kesha was told that she was to remain contractually obliged to work under Gottwald’s label, albeit with a different producer. Cold comfort for the woman who said she doesn’t feel safe in any way working with Dr. Luke – including being under the roof of his house. Cold comfort because the judge, Justice Shirley Kornreich of the Manhattan Supreme Court, feels Sony would suffer from irreparable damage if Kesha does not record the six remaining albums her contract stipulates. It all sounds familiar – a bit like women who are told they should know better and should consider the families and livelihoods of men who have abused them when they courageously seek justice.

In the days following the court case, fellow musicians, celebrities and fans alike have come out in droves, supporting Kesha. The hashtag #freekesha was trending over the weekend. Taylor Swift, after essentially being called a fair-weather feminist who only cares about gender issues when her music and money is involved, donated $USD250,000 to Kesha for legal assistance. Many people have pointed out the blatant injustice of Kesha’s situation, comparing it to Zayn Malik‘s recent departure from One Direction.

Now, Lena Dunham, whose partner Jack Antonoff has recently reached out to Kesha with the offer to record with her, has written an essay in her Lenny newsletter explaining not only her reasons for supporting Kesha, but why the outcome is no where near reasonable and calling it for what it is: protecting Gottwald and Sony while all but setting Kesha up for further trauma and abuse. Below is an excerpt from the letter, which you can read in full on the Lenny website.

Although the company insists that Kesha and Gottwald never need to be in a room together and that he will allow her to record without his direct involvement, they are minimizing what Kesha says regarding how Gottwald’s continued involvement in her career would affect her physical well-being and psychological safety.

So let me spell it out for them. Imagine someone really hurt you, physically and emotionally. Scared you and abused you, threatened your family. The judge says that you don’t have to see them again, BUT they still own your house. So they can decide when to turn the heat on and off, whether they’ll pay the telephone bill or fix the roof when it leaks. After everything you’ve been through, do you feel safe living in that house? Do you trust them to protect you?

That explanation is really for the judge, Shirley Kornreich, who questioned why — if they could be physically separated as Sony has promised — Kesha could not continue to work for Gottwald. After all, she said, it’s not appropriate to “decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated.” Guess what else is heavily negotiated? The human contract that says we will not hurt one another physically and emotionally. In fact, it’s so obvious that we usually don’t add it to our corporate documents.

To be clear, Kesha’s case is about more than a pop star fighting for her freedom, or a $60 million investment in a shiny commercial career. It’s about more than whether Kesha can strap on her cool leotards and make another album, free from a man who she says terrifies her. It’s even about more than the systemic misogyny of the entertainment industry, or the way that women in music and film have long been controlled and coerced by abusive Svengalis and entities larger than themselves. (Think: the studio system of the ’40s and ’50s, when starlets were essentially chattel. Think: Ike and Tina Turner.) What’s happening to Kesha highlights the way that the American legal system continues to hurt women by failing to protect them from the men they identify as their abusers.

A huge part of Kesha’s argument rests on her lawyer’s assertion that Gottwald, potentially enraged by Kesha’s sexual-assault allegations, could make efforts to bury her subsequent albums, preventing her from publicizing and therefore profiting from her work. This kind of control is a cornerstone of domestic abuse, and it’s far too common: according to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, financial abuse is an aspect of approximately 98 percent of abusive relationships. When a woman is not in control of her financial destiny, either because her partner is the primary breadwinner or because he makes financial decisions for the entire family, her world is made minuscule. Her resources evaporate. Fear dominates.

Images: Lenny, Twitter

The past few days have been an emotional, professional and legal nightmare for performing artist Kesha, who was ordered by a court to abide by her Sony contract and continue working with producer Dr. Luke, who she alleges sexually and emotionally abused her over the past decade.

Fans and artists have rallied around Kesha to show solidarity and support, while Dr. Luke’s legal team responded to the claims late yesterday, saying, “As Dr. Luke has said repeatedly, the allegations against him are outright lies that have been advanced to extort a contract renegotiation and money. Kesha and her counsel have cavalierly subjected Dr. Luke and his family to trial by Twitter, using a vicious smear campaign to ruin his reputation for financial gain while failing to support their claims.”

Now, finally, Dr. Luke himself has broken his silence, taking to Twitter to share a lengthy series of thoughts on the situation at hand:

 

Trigger warning: sexual abuse

Since filing a lawsuit of sexual, physical and emotional abuse against her producer, Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald) last year, US pop singer Kesha has been caught in limbo that has been utterly heartbreaking to behold.

In early 2014, Kesha checked into a rehabilitation facility in Illinois for the treatment of an eating disorder. This sparked the first assertion against her producer Dr. Luke, as she cited his criticism of her weight (he allegedly compared her body to the shape of a refrigerator and told her she needed to lose weight) when she first signed with him as reason for her disorder worsening. Later in the year (October), the singer sued Dr. Luke for further emotional abuse, in addition to sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence and violation of California business practices for the duration of their decade-long working relationship.

In reaction, Dr. Luke filed a counter-suit against Kesha for defamation, accusing her and her management of fabricating the abuse claims in order to break her contract with him. In June of this year, it was reported that Kesha added a suit against Sony Music Entertainment, with Kesha’s lawyer claiming “Dr. Luke’s proclivity for abusive conduct was open and obvious to [Sony Music Entertainment] executives, who either knew of the conduct and turned a blind eye, failed to investigate Dr. Luke’s conduct, failed to take any corrective action, or actively concealed Dr. Luke’s abuse.”

During her time in rehab, Kesha is said to have written at least 14 news songs. However, as her contracts with Luke and his label Kemosabe Records (which is owned by Sony Music Entertainment) are still in place and preventing her from moving to a new label, she is unable to produce any of this new material. Last Friday, the singer pushed for a preliminary injunction, meaning that a New York judge will soon have to make a determination if she is likely to succeed on the merits of a claim that her recording contracts are void.

According to court papers, Kesha’s attorney Mark Geragos told the judge why a determination is needed soon:

“Until this Court rules on the declaratory judgment claim, Kesha is at an impasse,” states a memorandum supporting an injunction that would bar Dr. Luke from interfering with her signing with another label. “She cannot work with music producers, publishers, or record labels to release new music. With no new music to perform, Kesha cannot tour. Off the radio and stage and out of the spotlight, Kesha cannot sell merchandise, receive sponsorships, or get media attention. Her brand value has fallen, and unless the Court issues this injunction, Kesha will suffer irreparable harm, plummeting her career past the point of no return.”

In support, Kesha has submitted an affidavit of her own describing the abuse she endured, along with Luke’s claiming credit for music he didn’t write and a television show he didn’t produce, before finally stating she knows she “cannot work with Dr. Luke… I physically cannot. I don’t feel safe in any way.” Adding to her support, Kesha provided an affidavit from Jim Urie, the former president and CEO of Universal Music Group Distribution. He agrees that without an injunction, Kesha’s career is over.

“No mainstream distribution company will invest the money necessary to distribute songs for an artist who has fallen from the public eye, as is happening to Kesha at this very moment… Accordingly, if Kesha cannot immediately resume recording and having her music promoted, marketed, and distributed by a major label, her career is effectively over.”

A spokesperson for Luke, on the other hand, has said that the producer and his legal team are confident that “this motion will be denied because it is without merit… Kesha continues to make the same false claims of abuse against Dr. Luke.” Adding that “If Kesha now regrets her career being mired in legal proceedings, it’s entirely her making. It was Kesha who chose to file a lawsuit falsely alleging abuse to gain advantage in contract negotiations, and now she must accept the consequences of her improper actions. As long as she continues to stand by her false claims of abuse against Dr. Luke and remains in breach of her contracts, he will continue to protect his professional and personal reputation, as well as his contractual rights, in a court of law. He looks forward to obtaining judgments in his favor.”

Meanwhile, Sony Entertainment has made its first comments on the case, stating that the company has simply been “caught in the crossfire.” and that “She cannot claim that Gottwald [Dr. Luke] intimidated her into silence, then — as an apparent afterthought — seek to hold Sony and Kemosabe Records liable for failing to act on conduct that she did not report.”