Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds called on musicians to stop working with Dr. Luke until he drops his lawsuit against Kesha and releases her from her contracts.
Thursday, Reynolds wrote on Twitter, “I pledge to never work with Dr. Luke unless he drops his lawsuit against @KeshaRose and releases her of any contracts she has with him (publishing etc). I ask all artists in our industry to make this same pledge.”
I pledge to never work with Dr. Luke unless he drops his lawsuit against @KeshaRose and releases her of any contracts she has with him (publishing etc)
I ask all artists in our industry to make this same pledge. Please tweet about it and tag #boycottdrluke #FreeKesha
— Dan Reynolds (@DanReynolds) October 10, 2019
While Reynolds’ post has garnered plenty of approval from fans on Twitter, it does not seem as if any other major artists have taken up the pledge based on a perusal of the hashtags Reynolds shared, #boycottdrluke and #FreeKesha.
A rep for Dr. Luke did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Dr. Luke and Kesha remain locked in a legal battle that stems from a 2014 suit the singer filed against the producer, accusing him of sexual assault and emotional abuse. Kesha has tried on numerous occasions to get out of her contracts with Dr. Luke, but has so far been unsuccessful (her latest effort, per E! News, took a hit Thursday when a New York Court of Appeals denied her motion to appeal Dr. Luke’s defamation suit). While Kesha no longer works with Dr. Luke in the studio, she remains signed to his label, Kemosabe.
Although Kesha has garnered plenty of support from her peers in the music industry — Lady Gaga even defended her in a deposition in 2017 — Dr. Luke has continued to work quietly with other artists. Over the past few years, he’s worked regularly with rising pop artist Kim Petras, while this year alone he’s written or produced for Big Boi, Doja Cat and Tyga.
