Months after settling a longtime legal battle with producer Dr. Luke, the pop star has parted ways with both her label and management.
Several months after Kesha settled a contentious, nine-year legal battle with producer Dr. Luke, the pop star is feeling "free."
On Wednesday, the 36-year-old singer shared a video of her on a beach on her TikTok page, with the words, "I haven't felt this free since I was 18," written across the screen. Two days before that, she shared a similar shot of her standing nude in a sunny vacation spot on Instagram, which she captioned, "Coming back home to me ❤️"
Both liberating shots were posted after Variety reported that the pop star had left both her label and management following the end of her legal battle in June.
According to the outlet, a source shared that Kesha's deal with Luke's label, Kemosabe, which is distributed by RCA Records, officially ended last week, seven months after the release of her last contractual album with the label, Gag Order, which was released in May.
In a statement to Variety, a rep for Kesha's longtime manager confirmed on Tuesday that the singer has also parted ways with the company, noting, "Jack Rovner confirms, after 16 years, Kesha and Vector Management have agreed amicably to part ways, with much love and respect."
Kesha followed with a statement of her own shortly after: "My manager has been an unwavering supporter of helping me get through the lengthy legal battle I have been embroiled in for almost a decade. We have achieved many great successes and have shared a magnificent part of my life with me. I am so grateful to them and always will be. In need of a fresh start in my life, we have parted ways but I will remain forever grateful for the run we had."
Variety reports that the singer is said to be in discussions with potential new managers.
Kesha released five full-length albums -- including her 2010 debut, Animal, which included the smash single "Tik Tok" -- and three EPs through Kemosabe, a business relationship that was reportedly contentious long before she fought to be released from her contract.
Her legal battle with Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, stems back to October 2014, when the singer accused the producer of drugging and raping her after a 2005 party, as well as abusing her over the course of 10 years. Kesha's original 2014 lawsuit alleged sexual, physical and emotional abuse and also was a legal attempt to extricate her from her binding music contract.
Dr. Luke countersued the same year, denying the abuse and alleging she defamed him by going public with her claims. Kesha's lawsuit was dismissed in 2016, however, his defamation lawsuit has continued through several appeals and numerous procedural delays slowing down the process up until June.
Kesha and Dr. Luke settled the defamation dispute out of court, both parties announced in June.
"Only God knows what happened that night," Kesha wrote in a statement at the time. "As I always said, I cannot recount everything that happened. I am looking forward to closing the door on this chapter of my life and beginning a new one. I wish nothing but peace to all parties involved."
"While I appreciate Kesha again acknowledging that she cannot recount what happened that night in 2005, I am absolutely certain that nothing happened," Dr. Luke said in his statement. "I never drugged or assaulted her and would never do that to anyone. For the sake of my family, I have vigorously fought to clear my name for nearly 10 years. It is time for me to put this difficult matter behind me and move on with my life. I wish Kesha well."
The abrupt pre-trial settlement came 10 days after New York's appeals court gave Kesha a key victory in the case. Dr. Luke was deemed to be a "public figure," which would make his defamation case more difficult to prove. The appeals court also ruled that if Kesha were to win the case, she could recoup her legal bills.
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