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© Getty28-year-old singer Kesha burst into tears after judge rules she must honour her Sony contract with producer Lukasz Sebastian (mostly known as 'Dr. Luke') who allegedly drugged and raped her.
Greed, abuse, sexual exploitation, and psychopaths lurk in the shadows of the music and film industries, and even pageants. Child star Corey Feldman bravely came out years ago about having been abused by movie moguls. But these moguls are seemingly untouchable. Power and money hold actors, models and musicians alike hostage, out of fear of having their careers ruined. Going public about abuse in the entertainment world was rare, until recently. Regardless of the threats she received, Kesha Rose Sebert plucked up the courage to come out about her assault, claiming that producer Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald drugged her before taking sexual advantage of her.
"Soon after moving to Los Angeles, Dr. Luke began to violently abuse the young Ms. Sebert... Dr. Luke continuously made sexual advances towards Ms. Sebert. He forced Ms. Sebert to take drugs and alcohol in order to take advantage of her sexually while she was intoxicated." - Kesha's attorney
If the allegations against "Dr. Luke" are true, he checks most personality traits that characterize a psychopath. A comprehensive timeline on what happened to Kesha Rose can be read here. Since going public, Kesha has been attempting to terminate her contract with Sony. Last month, however, a judge ruled that Kesha could not be let out of her contract with the company and has to stick to her agreement to make six more albums. The singer burst into tears upon hearing the judge's ruling.

Thankfully, Kesha was not alone in exposing the abuse that happens behind closed doors, and continues to receive support from fellow artists. Following Kesha's struggle, famous singer Stefani Germanotta, better known as Lady Gaga, came to her defense, revealing that she too had been sexually assaulted, and decided to raise awareness about sexual assault in the music industry via a live performance.

Lady Gaga With Survivors
Using the Oscars as her platform, Lady Gaga, along with survivors, gave a powerful performance of "Til It Happens to You" from the documentary on campus rape, The Hunting Ground.
Kesha's and Lady Gaga's courage have put Sony, the conglomerate Kesha's alleged abuser works for, under serious pressure to drop Gottwald. Whether or not Kesha's allegations are true is still being debated. One thing is certain though: companies and producers have been known to take advantage of the stars they take under their wing, and rarely, if ever, suffer any consequences from it. This isn't the first time that Sony personnel have been accused of predatory behavior.

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Singer Adele at the 2016 Brit Awards: “I’d like to take a quick second just to thank my manager and my record label for embracing the fact that I’m a woman and being encouraged by it. And I would also like to take this moment to publicly support Kesha.” Other high-profile pop stars that have shown their support for Kesha include Lorde, Demi Lovato, Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift.
Back in 2002, another world famous singer, Michael Jackson, publicized the tendency of major companies, including Sony, to abuse and take advantage of artists: "These guys worked really hard at their craft. But the story ends the same. They are usually broken, torn, and they're usually very sad - the story's very sad in the end because the companies take advantage of them." On another occasion Jackson claimed:
"The recording companies really, really do conspire against the artists," Jackson said. "They steal, they cheat, they do everything they can, especially [against] the black artists. People from James Brown to Sammy Davis Jr., some of the real pioneers that inspired me to be an entertainer, these artists are always on tour, because if they stop touring, they would go hungry. If you fight for me, you're fighting for all black people, dead and alive."
Jackson also described then Sony Music chairman, Tommy Mottola, as "mean, a racist, and very, very, very devilish." Mottola was then married to singer Mariah Carey, who described him as a controlling tyrant who abused her "mentally and emotionally."

Because of brain anomalies and other factors, psychopaths lack conscience and have an unusually strong tendency to exert control over others. Wearing 'masks of normalcy' often enables them to achieve high positions in society, whether it's in the military, politics, media, religious organizations, or the entertainment industries.

While Kesha's struggles may seem of little importance next to global matters, becoming aware of the problem of psychopathy is key to understanding the state of the world we live in - and the change the music industry has gone through over the years, literally becoming infected with pathological individuals - and how it affects all of us.

Regarding Kesha's case, there is a glimmer of hope still. With all the pressure Sony has been under to choose people over profit, there's discussion about Sony terminating its contract with Dr. Luke. Unfortunately, it is not necessarily due to real empathy that Sony wants to drop him. The negative press they've experienced had led to a significant tarnishing of their public image that has impacted sales.

The truth is that artists live under constant threat, and are encouraged to do what they're told, sit and look pretty, and avoid rocking the boat at all costs. However, since Kesha stood up for herself, it has allowed a glimmer of hope to shine through the woodwork. Her actions and bravery have inspired several others to come forth about their own experiences. Hopefully, many others will come forward as well, so that for once, the spotlight can be shone on the psychopaths exploiting the talent of others. If this does happen, it will mean that the companies that allow psychopathic and sociopathic types to work for them will experience a significant decrease in support, and eventually force them to shape up and behave decently, just as we're seeing happen with Sony. We can only hope that artists will continue to stoke this fire, and help pave the way for a safer environment for new and current artists to freely express themselves.