In an Instagram post Sunday, pop singer Kesha claimed that she was offered a way out of her contract with a former music producer, who she claims abused and sexually assaulted her for years, if she were to say that she lied about the alleged abuse.
so. I got offered my freedom IF i were to lie. I would have to APOLOGIZE publicly and say that I never got raped.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS behind closed doors. I will not take back the TRUTH. I would rather let the truth ruin my career than lie for a monster ever again.
Kesha has been locked in a legal battle with her former producer Dr. Luke, who has an exclusive contract with the singer that prevents her from creating music with any other producer.
Kesha claims that the Sony producer, aka Lukasz Gottwald, physically abused her and raped her for years.
In February, Judge Shirley Kornreich denied Kesha's request for an injunction, ruling that releasing the singer from the contract under Sony would cause irreparable damage to the record labels involved. Sony also pledged to allow Kesha to work with other producers.
On March 20, Kesha appealed the judge's decision, arguing that continuing her contact under Dr. Luke was tantamount to slavery.
Kesha and her lawyer, Mark Geragos, also argue that Kesha's inability to produce music since dueling lawsuits were filed in October had the potential to kill her career.
A source close to the case told BuzzFeed News that nothing new had occurred within the past 24 hours, but that Geragos was in the process of attempting to bring Daniel Petrocelli – an attorney best known for his work in a wrongful death lawsuit against O.J. Simpson – onto Kesha's legal team.
Dr. Luke has denied Kesha's allegations of abuse and rape, with his legal team arguing the claims were concocted by the singer to get out of her current contract for a more lucrative deal. Dr. Luke's lawyers did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News' request for comment.
A hearing for the appeal has not yet been scheduled.
UPDATE
A spokesperson for Dr. Luke provided the following statement to BuzzFeed News.
The Court repeatedly stated Kesha is already free to record without Dr. Luke, and that she had not presented any facts supporting her claims. That's because all the evidence — including Kesha's own videotaped sworn testimony — show her allegations are false. The only thing Kesha is not free to do is to continue to lie about Dr. Luke through publicity stunts and outrageous smears, ignoring the fact that by her own free will she went to work and entered into new contracts with Dr. Luke years after this "incident" supposedly happened. Her goal all along has been solely personal enrichment by seeking to break contracts that brought her success and millions so she can enter into more lucrative ones. We look forward to our day in court holding Kesha accountable for her lies.