Grab a hanky because you will soon cry tears of joy. Ready? Ok. Click below to see Kesha’s new music video!

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If you want to feel all of the feelings, please take 20 minutes to watch the speech Kesha made when she received the Human Rights Campaign’s Visibility Award.

The award is given to “high profile individuals who use their platform to advance and advocate for the LGBT movement,” Jezebel reports. “She accepted the award through tears, beginning with an earnest thank you to all those who have shown her support during her own recent struggles.”

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ColumnWe’re upset about the ruling in Kesha’s case against Sony–wanting out of her contract after enduring alleged sexual misconduct from the label’s Dr. Luke. But despite the disappointing ruling, we are happy about one thing: There are a lot of people who are publicly supporting Kesha in a variety of heartwarming and powerful ways.

If you are a regular reader of this column, you probably know that I am incredibly interested in Kesha’s case. A lot of that interest stems from my own experiences — I relate to what the singer went through and continues to go through. The case also peaked my interest because I was incredibly curious — and a bit worried — about which direction things would go. Sadly, my gut was right, and Kesha did not when her case.

According to Jezebel, on February 19, Shirley Kornreich, a New York Supreme Court judge, “ruled that Kesha ‘must remain contractually bound to Sony and Kemosabe, the record label created and run by Dr. Luke.’” Kesha claims that Dr. Luke “drugged and raped her when she was 18 and continued to abuse her throughout their creative partnership.”

The judge decided that the injunction was, basically, a request to “decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated and typical for the industry” — and not a “for physical, psychological and sexual safety.” Way to go, Kornreich.

What makes this decision even more heartbreaking is Kesha’s injunction. Jezebel reports that part of it said, “I know I cannot work with Dr. Luke. I physically cannot. I don’t feel safe in any way.”

While Kesha didn’t win her legal battle, she’s got a lot of support from the public and fellow pop stars.

If you want to see how many people on Twitter think that Kesha should not have to fulfill her contract with Dr. Luke, just search the hashtag #FreeKesha. Men and women both think the singer’s experience should be taken seriously and that she shouldn’t have to work with someone who makes her, basically, physically ill.

And since the judge’s decision, quite a few pop stars have spoken out in support of Kesha.  JoJo, Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson, and Lady Gaga tweeted support to Kesha. Taylor Swift even donated $250,000 to help the singer with her financial needs. And most recently, Adele gave her support to the singer in an acceptance speech.

Now, none of the above can take away the pain Kesha feels or the trauma she went through. The positive public outcry, though, is refreshing. Women and men report sexual assaults every day and often times don’t get taken seriously. So, when the public creates a #FreeKesha hashtag and calls bullshit on a ruling that seems incredibly misguided, one can only hope that victims will get better treatment in the future.

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Image of Kesha via Shutterstock

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ColumnThe music industry is a tough place to find success. Musicians have a hell of a time breaking into it, and even when they do, they face a lot of tough competition. And if you’re a female in the industry? Go ahead and multiply the “this is impossible” factor by a whole lot of tambourine shaking.

We could go on and on about the various issues that affect women in the music industry. Hell, we could even write a book about how it’s even difficult to be a die-hard female fan. (If I had a nickel for every time a male tried to one-up my music fandom or grab my ass at a concert, I’d have a lot of cash… but I digress.) This week, however, we’re going to discuss just how terrible one female artist has it right now…

You may remember Kesha (previously known as Ke$ha) from such “club bangers” (ah, music terminology) as “Tik Tok,” and “Timber.” Sure, these songs aren’t amazing, but hell, who cares — they’re fun. While Kesha used to be known for her (hilarious) on stage, vulgar antics (penis props, glitter body paint, etc.), she’s been out of the spotlight for some time. The reason? It’s complicated and pretty fucking gross.

The first reason: In October 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke, her former manager. As we previously reported, the lawsuit claims that Dr. Luke drugged, sexually abused, and physically assaulted the pop star. The assault revelation happened while Kesha was in rehab for bulimia.

The second (more recent) reason: Kesha has been out of the public eye since filing the lawsuit against Dr. Luke. Why? Because, apparently, Kesha is still under contract with Dr. Luke… the person she says sexually assaulted her.

According to Bust, Sony (the company Kesha and Dr. Luke work with) isn’t releasing Kesha from her contract, despite all of Kesha’s claims against Dr. Luke. (Kesha has even gone so far as adding Sony as a defendant in her lawsuit, “claiming the executives at Sony were aware of the abusive nature of Dr. Luke and condoned it through their inaction,” Bust reports.) So, as everything stands right now, Kesha has to continue collaborating with Dr. Luke to work. Kesha is desperately trying to wriggle herself free from the contract, but until the singer gets word on an injunction she filed in September that asked a New York Judge to “allow her to record without Dr. Luke,” she’s stuck.

Yeah, that’s a whole lot of not cool.

While Dr. Luke is saying that all of the noise Kesha is making is an “obvious contract renegotiation strategy,” we’ve got to agree with Bust and second that we also find it difficult “to believe that a famous and successful star would jeopardize her career and the reputation of a man who was key to her success just to get out of a contract.”

This is a big problem for a big (HUGE) reason: It shows that women in the music industry are pretty much told to shut up if they have a problem in the “workplace.” Kesha works in a studio and now, because she has a problem with one of her co-workers (who allegedly assaulted her), her company is telling her she can’t work until her contract is up. But Dr. Luke? He can just go on working — business as usual. Even if Dr. Luke is innocent, it seems incredibly unfair that both people involved with this story aren’t getting equal treatment.

All we can say is we hope this entire thing ends soon (and ends fairly), and we get to see Kesha back on a stage doing her thing.

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Image of Kesha from Martin Lehmann – Shutterstock

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