More than 100 Kesha supporters will protest on Friday, March 11 outside of Sony Music Entertainment’s New York City headquarters. The group plans to deliver petitions with over 411,000 signatures urging the label to free Kesha from her contract with Dr. Luke. The singer accused the producer of abusing her sexually and emotionally in an October 2014 complaint.
Luke, who has not been criminally charged, has denied all allegations and has also launched a suit of his own accusing defamation.
Four petitions will be delivered in total: a Care2 petition with over 221,9000 signatures, two UltraViolet petitions with over 69,600 signatures combined and a SumOfUs petition with more than 120,400 signatures. Supporters plan to project the hashtag #FreeKesha onto the face of the Sony building between 7 and 7:30 p.m. that day.
Sony recently released a statement regarding the lawsuits. Speaking to The New York Times on behalf of the company, Scott Edelman said, “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.”
“Sony has stopped short of leveraging its unique position as parent company to Dr. Luke’s label,” said Julie Mastrine, Care2’s activism marketing and social media manager. “Sony can do more to pressure its subsidiary to voluntarily end Kesha’s contract.”
“By continuing to force Kesha to work with Dr. Luke, Sony is sending a clear signal to music fans that they stand with rapists and against survivors,” said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of UltraViolet. “This year, Sony Music executives have the opportunity to send a clear signal to music fans and performing artists around the world that rape and sexual assault will never be tolerated. Now is the time for Sony to stand with Kesha, and end their contract with Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records.”
Nicole Carty, senior campaigner at SumOfUs also echoed the sentiment, “No artist should be bound to work for their alleged rapist in order to protect corporate profit. Sony needs to take the protection of its artist seriously and do everything in its power to free Kesha from this contract.”
The public feud has drawn considerable attention, stars like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Lena Dunham, and Adele have voiced their support for Kesha.
