Ke$ha has become the butt of many jokes.
She makes catchy songs about people who don’t have it together, and as such she is often a punch line.
However, the butt of a joke still has basic rights.
Ke$ha has accused her manager, Dr. Luke, of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
Dr. Luke has countered by saying she is attempting to extort him, and he said he is suing her.
Billboard magazine evidently thought that was hilarious and sent a survey to top music executives asking them who they believed, the singer or the manager.
The survey also covered other topics, like how Justin Bieber’s career would pan out in a few years and who were the biggest jerks in the industry.
As with most cases of abuse, the details are tricky.
Dr. Luke may not have known how he was affecting Ke$ha, or she misunderstood their dynamic.
With no clear evidence, proving allegations of abuse becomes a mind-numbing game of “he said, she-said.”
However, that does not mean it shouldn’t be taken seriously.
What Billboard has done is effectively take the gravity away from the situation, and they have turned it into an inside joke among the people who are responsible for producing a large chunk of media that circulates today.
Furthermore, there is an ever-increasing demand for transparency, and, whether or not transparency is readily available, the public will force companies to be honest.
It is surprising that Billboard would have sent out a survey like this in a world where information is readily available and that they didn’t expect consequences. It speaks to a large and serious issue of hypocrisy within these companies.
With as many female artists as there are right now declaring themselves feminist, wanting to fight for equal rights and to protect marginalized groups, it is ludicrous that those same artists should have to face insidious discrimination within an institution that wants to present itself as forward-thinking.
And of course, there’s the ever-present problem of the lack of appreciation for situations of abuse and assault.
Even if Ke$ha is fabricating her claims, and even if Dr. Luke’s claims of extortion are true, when someone speaks about abuse, we need to listen.
To make light of the situation so publicly is to send a message to victims who are not famous — to women, children and men — who feel the only thing they will receive if they try to get away or reveal their abuser is humiliation — or worse, people will side with their abuser, and they will receive no help at all.
We can laugh at a artists all we want, we can enjoy their music and we can make fun of it, but we can’t ignore when they try to publicize with a serious issue.
Ke$ha has a platform to talk about recognizing and escaping abuse, and we need to give it to her.
She deserves that.
