Kesha chokes up as she recounts years-long litigation with Dr. Luke in Alchemy of Pop Ted Talk: ‘I’ve gained back legal rights over my own voice’

Kesha was visibly emotional in her new Ted Talk, in which she described persevering through her years-long legal battle with music producer Dr. Luke.

In the video, released Thursday, the 37-year-old singer shares how she used the emotions she experienced during the trial to fuel her creativity and songwriting.

Kesha announced in March of this year that she would be recording a TED Talk and she delivered the presentation, titled The Alchemy Of Pop, in Vancouver in April.

Though she alluded to her struggles in court and with her label with Dr. Luke, the singer — born Kesha Rose Sebert — kept details vague, focusing instead on her songwriting.

She specifically described the emotions that went into writing her 2009 single Tik Tok (which was recorded in 2008, the years in which Kesha alleged she was sexually assaulted by Dr. Luke after he alleged he had previously drugged and raped her in a 2005 incident) and her 2017 song Praying.

Kesha sued Dr. Luke — born Lukasz Gottwald — in 2014, alleging he drugged and raped her years earlier. He denied the allegations and later sued her for defamation; seen in Hollywood in 2014

“I got into a really ugly lawsuit with the same person that I signed the rights to my recorded voice over to. I lost the rights to my voice and it made me feel like I lost the rights to myself,” Kesha said.

“It was very public. It was very painful. I was very angry. So I did what I do with all my emotions, and I wrote my way through it,” she continued.

The singer warned the audience that she might cry if she talked about regaining her freedom.

Although she was clearly speechless, she managed to continue speaking in a loud voice.

“On March 6, 2024, I regained the legal rights to my own voice, and with it, a newfound freedom for the first time in almost 20 years,” she said defiantly, prompting a wave of cheers and applause from the audience.

“It’s funny how you can lose the right to your own voice, but never the right to your truth,” she added.

Kesha focused on how therapeutic her songwriting had been over the years, saying the process could help heal personal emotional issues, both for the songwriter and for the listeners who were touched by their song.

She also described the tumultuous nature of songwriting, as she had to dig deep within herself to find material for her songs.

Before recording her Ted Talk, Kesha taught the 2.5-week course The Alchemy of Pop Music at Esalen earlier this year.

After Kesha filed a lawsuit alleging that Dr. Luke had drugged and raped her (which he vehemently denied), the producer filed a defamation lawsuit against her, claiming she had fabricated the claims and tarnished his character.

The lawsuits were eventually settled in June 2023. During the announcement, Kesha said that “only God knows what happened that night,” referring to the night she alleged she was sexually assaulted.

“I got into a really ugly lawsuit with the same person that I signed the rights to my recorded voice over to. I lost the rights to my voice and it made me feel like I lost the rights to myself,” Kesha said, speaking about 2009’s Tik Tok and 2017’s Praying.

“It was very public. It was very painful. I was very angry. So I did what I do with all my emotions, and I wrote my way through it”; seen in 2015 as he left the New York State Supreme Court

Dr. Luke is responsible for producing some of the biggest hits of the past few decades, and he continues to have chart hits, although he now uses a pseudonym to avoid controversy; seen with Miley Cyrus in 2014

However, Dr. Luke said he was “absolutely certain nothing had happened. I never drugged her or assaulted her.”

Kesha went on to say that she couldn’t “explain everything that happened that night,” but that she “just wishes peace to all parties involved.”

Dr. Luke, born Lukasz Gottwald, is one of the most successful producers of the past decades and the songs he produced are a regular in the pop charts.

Kesha sued him in 2014, but Dr. Luke has never been charged with a crime related to her allegations.