By Molly Schecklman —
If you have been tuning into the entertainment industry at all in the past few weeks, then I am sure you have heard about the Kesha debacle. And if you haven’t, here is a quick rundown to get you up to date:
Back in 2014 Kesha sued her producer, Dr. Luke, for sexual assault. She wanted to end her contract with him in order to create new music under a different label. However, that wasn’t what happened. The court ruled in favor of Dr. Luke and refused to end Kesha’s contract.
Since the ruling, many stars such as Lady Gaga, Adele, Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato have been standing up for their friend via social media. For example, Lady Gaga tweeted,“There are people all over the world who love you @KeshaRose. And I can say truly I am in awe of your bravery.”
Taylor Swift weighed in on the situation as well. She attempted to alleviate the issue by donating $250,000 to assist with legal costs. However, this was met with criticism and was perceived as a superficial approach to dealing with a serious problem. Lovato took to Twitter shortly after the donation.
“Take something to Capitol Hill or actually speak out about something and then I’ll be impressed,” she wrote.
Lovato’s frustration spawns from an all-too-common approach to solving societal problems: throwing money until the problem is “solved.” It takes courage to tackle tough issues and raise awareness for the underrepresented.
“I’m just tired of seeing women use ‘women empowerment’ and ‘feminism’ to further brands without actually being the ones that have the uncomfortable conversations,” she added.
Not everyone has money to give, but everyone has a voice. It would mean so much more to stand up for something and to voice your opinion in order to prevent future scenarios similar to Kesha’s, than to just give money. Stand strong. Your voice matters.