A New York court has refused to overturn a ruling from February and dismissed claims Kesha is now a “slave” to Sony Music.
Kesha has accused her former producer, Dr Luke, of abuse, something he has denied.
Her lawyers claimed she was the victim of a hate crime, but the judge disagreed.
The case has been rolling on for months with other performers, including Adele and Taylor Swift, publicly supporting Kesha’s attempts to leave Sony Music.
The latest ruling in New York has also led to new questions about how the legal row began.
It’s been widely reported Kesha first filed a case against Dr Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, in 2014 after which he countersued.
However, the latest ruling suggests it was, in fact, the other way around with Kesha’s abuse case coming after Likasz Gottwald tried to sue her for breach of contract.
Kesha has said she can’t work with a “monster” and is accusing Dr Luke of raping her a decade ago after giving her a pill that knocked her out.
The singer said her producer bullied her to lose weight until she was so traumatized that she developed an eating disorder and spent two months in a rehabilitation clinic in 2014.
The latest ruling found holes in several legal arguments being made by Kesha’s lawyers.
Manhattan State Supreme Court Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich said rape isn’t necessarily an act of gender hatred, so can’t be considered a hate crime.
In her ruling, Judge Kornreich wrote that although Lukasz Gottwald’s alleged actions were directed at Kesha, the singer has not suggested the producer has specific hostility towards women in general.
Kesha’s lawyers had also argued it was “slavery” to force her to work for companies, which although owned by Sony, are controlled by Dr Luke.
However, the judge decided Kesha’s human rights were not being violated because Sony has promised to keep Kesha “insulated” from Dr Luke.
Previously Sony has said it is “not in a position to terminate the contractual relationship between Luke and Kesha” and that the singer can record “without any connection, involvement or interaction with Luke whatsoever”.
In her ruling, Justice Kornreich wrote: “[Kesha’s] 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.”
Kesha’s lawyers have not responded to the ruling.
Justice Kornreich also said the New York court had no jurisdiction over the case because the alleged abuse happened in California.
There was also a problem because the claims date back beyond the legal time limit, known as a statute of limitations.
Kesha’s lawyers say she was too afraid of him to speak up at the time.
Lukas Gottwald has produced some of the biggest pop hits of the past decade, working with stars including Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson and Nicki Minaj.
Dr Luke says Kesha has made up the allegations to ruin his reputation in hopes of getting out of her five-album contract.
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