Judge dismisses Kesha’s hate crime claims
NEW YORK - Pop star Kesha’s claims that producer Dr. Luke violated human rights and hate crime laws by drugging, sexually abusing and emotionally tormenting her were dismissed Wednesday, with a judge saying that rape isn’t necessarily an act of gender hatred.Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich ruled in the platinum-selling singer’s civil-court clash with the hit-making producer, who denies the singer’s accusations and hasn’t been charged with any crime.
Kesha’s claims that Dr. Luke violated her rights by raping and abusing her can’t go forward because the alleged incidents happened outside New York, stretch beyond legal time limits and don’t meet the high legal bar for “intentional infliction of emotional distress,” the judge said.
“Her claims of insults about her value as an artist, her looks and her weight are insufficient to constitute extreme, outrageous conduct intolerable in a civilized society,” Kornreich wrote, adding that Kesha didn’t say that Dr. Luke’s alleged attacks were spurred by animus toward women.
“Every rape is not a gender-motivated hate crime,” the judge wrote.
Lawyers for the “Tik Tok” singer didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling, which left standing a portion of Kesha’s claims involving contract issues.
Lawyers for Dr. Luke and Sony Music Entertainment - his partner in Kesha’s record label, Kemosabe Records, and a defendant against her claims - declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Kesha is appealing an earlier refusal to free her from her contract, Dr. Luke’s breach-of-contract claims against her are ongoing, and so are California and Tennessee lawsuits surrounding a dispute that has rippled through the entertainment business. AP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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