“Women Deserve Better”: Lena Dunham Stands With Kesha In A Powerful Essay Against Abuse

This article discusses sexual assault.

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After being denied an injunction releasing her from a record deal with Sony, and in turn her producer and alleged abuser Dr. Luke, Kesha has received a staggering show of support over the past few days. Though Dr. Luke has not been convicted of any charges — Kesha claims he sexually, physically, and emotionally abused her since the age of 18 (all of which he denies) — millions have declared their solidarity for her with the hashtag #FreeKesha and condemned the legal and commercial systems which have put her in this mess.

Other female pop stars such as Demi Lovato, Lorde, Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson, and Lady Gaga have led this chorus, and most recently Taylor Swift has donated $250,000 to “help with [Kesha’s] financial needs” after the court case. Now, in her latest edition of Lenny, Lena Dunham has lent her voice to the cause. In an essay titled ‘Why Kesha’s Case Is About More Than Just Kesha’ Dunham has expressed her total disgust for the situation. And, employing it as an example of how our culture so often fails women, she’s discussed the other myriad similar ways they continue to struggle.

I stand with my beautiful friend Kesha ? This is bigger than all of us. My thoughts are on the @lennyletter site today. My love is with her, and with every woman who has been hurt by the legal system’s disregard for women’s safety.

A photo posted by Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) on Feb 23, 2016 at 9:02am PST

Spelling this out for both the judge who made the decision and Sony — whom she implores to resolve this internally — Dunham compares the situation to domestic violence:

“Imagine someone really hurt you, physically and emotionally. Scared you and abused you, threatened your family. The judge says that you don’t have to see them again, BUT they still own your house. So they can decide when to turn the heat on and off, whether they’ll pay the telephone bill or fix the roof when it leaks. After everything you’ve been through, do you feel safe living in that house? Do you trust them to protect you?

“To be clear, Kesha’s case is about more than a pop star fighting for her freedom, or a $60 million investment in a shiny commercial career. It’s about more than whether Kesha can strap on her cool leotards and make another album, free from a man who she says terrifies her. It’s even about more than the systemic misogyny of the entertainment industry, or the way that women in music and film have long been controlled and coerced by abusive Svengalis and entities larger than themselves. (Think: the studio system of the ’40s and ’50s, when starlets were essentially chattel. Think: Ike and Tina Turner.) What’s happening to Kesha highlights the way that the American legal system continues to hurt women by failing to protect them from the men they identify as their abusers.”

To illustrate these failings, Dunham points out that 19 US states still allow rapists to assert parental rights over children conceived through rape. And, separately, that those trying to escape abusive domestic relationships are still in need of serious help. Women are suffering evictions and homelessness as a result of calling out their attackers and 98 percent of abusive relationships involve financial abuse giving them limited means to a way out. Things are just as bleak in Australia.

“These women deserve better. They do not choose to have their reputations pilloried and their characters questioned as a tactic for getting what they want. What if we realise that the women who come forward have everything to lose, whether they’re pop stars or single mothers?

“The fact is, Kesha will never have a doctor’s note. She will never have a videotape that shows us that Gottwald threatened and shamed her, and she will never be able to prove, beyond the power of her testimony, that she is unsafe doing business with this man. And no, none of this was in her contract. But what man, what company endeavors to keep a woman saddled with someone who she says has caused her years of trauma, shame, and fear?

“The public outcry about Kesha’s case has been truly heartening: the swell of shock and indignation from fans and fellow performers alike. It wasn’t long ago that women in the public eye didn’t have a loose-enough leash to reach out and support one another, for fear of losing all they had worked so hard to create. Instead they quietly watched on their televisions, hoping they wouldn’t be next.

Those days are over.

They are fucking done.”

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Read the full essay at Lenny.

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1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) offers counselling, support or assistance for anyone who has experienced sexual assault or family violence.