She may have risen to fame thanks to her catchy dance songs, but there's a whole lot more
to Kesha than just brushing her teeth with Jack Daniels.
From a personal journey toward self-love, to publicly fighting the establishment, this
is the untold truth of Kesha.
"I'm not just one type of woman, I'm a lot of things.
I believe the quote is "''m f---ing everything.'"
Long before she got famous, Kesha appeared on an episode of the reality series The Simple
Life, starring former socialite besties Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.
And while it may have just been a one-off TV debut, it ultimately helped launch Kesha's
music career.
"I'm gonna vomit."
According to US Weekly, Kesha claimed that music producer Dr. Luke called her out of
the blue while she was filming the show, and she immediately quit high school and flew
to Los Angeles, where she provided background vocals on Hilton's debut CD.
Hilariously, Kesha even admitted to accidentally vomiting in Hilton's closet at a party, telling
the outlet,
"I thought it was a bathroom.
I was dancing too hard.
And it turned out to be her closet."
But despite getting her start on The Simple Life, Kesha admitted that she, Hilton, and
Richie don't talk anymore, telling Us Weekly in 2010,
"We are not friends.
We've just been connected on one too many places and levels.
I don't have anything against [Paris].
I think she's really nice, but we're just very different."
The singer explained that while they both love partying, she's not quite the materialist
and label queen that Hilton is, adding,
"We never had a fight.
We're just so different, you know?
We come from opposite ends of the spectrum.
I grew up in the valley, broke, running around barefoot and moved to Nashville and played
music and really poured my heart out.
Very different."
And as for Nicole, Kesha claims that the two have since headed their separate ways, and
that there's no common ground between them.
Kesha remembered,
"Nicole was hilarious.
I really liked her, but it's just kind of like, what does an apple and a penguin talk
about?"
…We suppose that's a fair point.
Kesha wrote or co-wrote every song featured on her three studio albums, Animal, Warrior,
and Rainbow.
So, it should come as no surprise that the singer-songwriter has lent her talents to
other artists, as well.
But Kesha's biggest songwriting hit remains "'Til the World Ends" by pop princess Britney
Spears, which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2011.
Kesha's relationship with Spears actually dated back to Spears' 2008 release, Circus,
on which Kesha provided the background vocals for the song "Lace & Leather."
Kesha gushed to MTV News in 2012,
"['Till The World Ends'] just came on the radio, and I have to say, I love hearing Britney
Spears sing my lyrics, every single day.
It never gets old.
I get so excited.
It's better than any drug when you hear Britney Spears sing a song you wrote."
Kesha has also written songs for Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande, according to Rolling Stone.
In early 2014, Kesha entered a 30-day rehab facility after struggling with an ongoing
eating disorder.
She said in a statement at the time, via People magazine,
"I'm a crusader for being yourself and loving yourself but I've found it hard to practice."
"I had to address certain very serious issues."
The singer wound up extending her stay at the facility for an additional month, canceling
tour dates in the process, to get her health back on track.
When she finally exited rehab that March, she tweeted,
"Happy to be back!
Feeling healthy & working on tons of new music.
I can't thank my fans enough for all the love & support u have given me."
"I, in fact, think that life is for living.
So live it."
During a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, Kesha revealed that her eating disorder, which
had been exacerbated by the pressures she felt within the music industry, was so serious
that she quote "almost died."
"I'm about to fall into the ocean of my mind."
Revealing the devastating truth, she added,
"I was slowly, slowly starving myself.
The worse I got and the sicker I got, the better a lot of people around me were saying
that I looked."
After finishing rehab, Kesha officially dropped the dollar sign from her name.
The change was first noticed on Twitter, when Kesha changed her handle from "Ke$haSuxx"
to her real name, "KeshaRose."
According to TMZ, the singer made the switch because she wanted a quote "fresh start" from
rehab.
Kesha elaborated on why she opted to drop her original stage name, telling Refinery29
in 2017,
"I let go of my facade about being a girl who didn't care.
My facade was to be strong, and I realized it was total bulls---.
I took out the dollar sign because I realized that was part of the facade.
It was a journey and I'm happy, that was me in that part of my life.
But then I turned a corner, but I still have a f---ing tattoo of it on my hand.
I'll have to figure that out!"
One of the first signs of trouble between Kesha and her producer, Dr. Luke, came when
Kesha's mom, Pebe Sebert, accused him of being one of the people who caused her daughter's
eating disorder.
Sebert told People magazine just days after Kesha entered rehab,
"Dr. Luke told a friend of ours he thought she looked like a refrigerator on her latest
video, and could she please try to control her weight.
After she went on a 14-day juice cleanse, he said, 'Thank God you finally got rid of
the weight!
We've all been talking about it!'
So she felt like she couldn't trust anyone."
But regardless of the alleged emotional damage, Dr. Luke adamantly denied Sebert's claims,
saying via public statement:
"It is unfortunate that at a time Ke$ha is suffering immensely and trying to heal at
a treatment center, her mother is taking this approach with the media.
I give Ke$ha my utmost support and well wishes for a quick return to health."
But that wouldn't be the most serious accusation Kesha would make against the producer.
In 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke, in which she claimed that he quote "physically,
verbally and emotionally abused" her and "put her life at risk," according to Rolling Stone.
The singer-songwriter asked to be released from her contract with Sony, and thus began
a long and complicated battle in both New York and California courts, during which Dr.
Luke denied the allegations, countersued for defamation and breach of contract, and later
sued Kesha's mom.
Despite major support from various celebrities in the industry, Kesha faced numerous setbacks
in her fight for freedom.
In August 2016, she finally dropped her abuse lawsuit against Dr. Luke in California in
order to focus on her music.
As for Dr. Luke, his lawsuit against Kesha is ongoing.
Meanwhile, Kesha was denied an appeal in her New York countersuit to exit her contract
with Dr. Luke in September 2019.
While Kesha's music career remained in limbo due to her legal battles with her producer,
she finally released her first single in years, the emotional ballad "Praying", in July 2017.
The hit song seemingly addressed the many ups and downs she had faced on her way back
to the recording studio, which she later discussed via Lenny Letter, writing,
"I have channeled my feelings of severe hopelessness and depression.
I've overcome obstacles, and I have found strength in myself even when it felt out of
reach.
I hope this song reaches people who are in the midst of struggles, to let them know that
no matter how bad it seems now, you can get through it."
"Well, I think this record has quite literally saved my life."
Kesha followed the track with two singles, "Woman" and "Learn to Let Go," off her 2017
album, Rainbow.
While she still enjoys sporting little pops of shimmer, at the height of Kesha's glitter
fetish, she dropped some serious coin on the sparkly stuff.
"I like to slather my face in glitter."
In 2011, she told Vanity Fair that she would spend a quote "few thousand" dollars every
month on glitter alone.
"I'm just an aura in a skin suit, but I do like to decorate it."
Two years later, she revealed how she first applied said glitter, telling Jimmy Kimmel,
"I was just young and naive, and I used to bathe myself in beer and then roll around
in it, and then I started getting a skin rash."
But she soon found a slightly more holistic way of looking sparkly.
Claiming that she actually has a crew member who's in charge of her glitter on stage and
off, she said she now uses baby oil as an adhesive, for her look.
"My method now is I fill up a bathtub and just get all oiled up, and then I get in."
"Really?"
"Submerge my body."
"Hm."
As most of her loyal fans already know, Kesha deeply loves all of the animals.
"I don't know if you've heard, but I'm starting a cat cult."
She told the Phoenix New Times in 2010,
"I'm an advocate for animals' rights, and my family has rescued dogs from all over the
world.
I don't believe in animal testing.
If you see me in fur, it's always fake.
Sometimes you see me wearing skulls, but those are all from roadkill."
"Now is the time to make animal protection a top priority."
She was later named the first global ambassador for the Humane Society International and has
several pet causes for the organization: She is a vocal opponent of shark-finning, trophy
hunting, and seal hunting, and she's a proponent of cruelty-free cosmetics and products, as
well as an advocate for street dogs, polar bears, and wild horses.
In 2013, the singer told Billboard,
"If you follow my music, you know I'm a bit of a jackass.
But this is one part of my life I take really seriously.
Helping animals has always been my goal."
"If I were an animal, I think I'd be some sort of octopus because they change as they
move."
Before Kesha became the Ke$ha we know now, she was a gifted singer-songwriter desperate
for a break.
And in one particular attempt at getting her music in front of the right people, the aspiring
pop star hand-delivered a demo to Prince in his house…uninvited.
Years later, Kesha recalled the story to Jimmy Fallon, remembering that after she simply
drove up to the house, she got out and approached the first person she saw.
"And there's a gardener in the front yard, and I was like, 'Here, five bucks.
And just don't make a thing, and I'm just going to slide right under this gate.'"
Claiming the landscaper totally fell for her little scam, she said she had no problem getting
past him, and into Prince's yard.
"He just laughed and thought it was funny, and I was charming at the time."
Kesha went ahead and slipped under the gate and then found Prince's door was unlocked.
Considering it a quote "invitation," she entered the home and went up an elevator while on
the phone with her mom.
When she exited the elevator, she saw Prince wearing a beanie and playing guitar.
Saying she almost quote "pooped her pants" at the sight, she added,
"I just got a look like, 'Who the hell are you?'
And then I just like waved around the CD, and I, like, put it on the table, and then
I ran away."
Kesha is very much in on the joke when it comes to her Jack Daniels-swigging party girl
persona.
Explaining that it was her way of leveling the playing field for men and women and society's
expectations of each, she said via Cosmo in 2012:
"Just because I drink doesn't mean I'm a drunk.
Just because I [am sensual] and I'm not embarrassed doesn't mean I'm a w----.
If men can do it, why can't a woman do it?"
"I've gotten a lot of grief, can you imagine, for just being a lady that likes to do all
the things boys like to do."
The pop star took a more serious turn with Rainbow amid her ongoing legal troubles with
Dr. Luke, but reprised her more fun-loving form on 2020's High Road.
In December 2019, Kesha explained to the Independent,
"I was a wild child, and I wasn't ashamed or embarrassed about it, and I did get an
exceptional amount of s---.
I expected people to have a stick up their ass about me talking about drinking and [making
love], because, societal norms, women can't talk about that.
A good chunk of my favorite musicians are men, and they've been talking about this stuff
since rock 'n roll was created.
So I wasn't surprised by people being shocked by it, but I also wasn't gonna let that stop
me."
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