NEW YORK ⏤ Just a few minutes into the 9 o'clock hour, the weather dropped to a brisk 29 degrees with a dreary overcast in the February sky. And yet, almost 100 something glitter-bearing, almost too energetic Kesha fans stood outside of Manhattan's New York State Supreme Courthouse to advocate and protest one cause: #FreeKesha. After a tireless, drawn out and messy legal battle against alleged abusive producer Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Friday (February 19) marked an important day, if not the most important day, in the pop star's career, where she stood in front of a judge and learned the fate of her injunction to record outside of Luke's Kemosabe Records, which falls under the Sony Music umbrella.
Even with the path of multi-color glitter to the courthouse steps, the sunshine that began to emerge from the clouds and the #FreeKesha hashtag atop Twitter's U.S. trending topic list, Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich denied her legal request for freedom. Just hours before the verdict was announced, iHeartRadio took to the streets outside the courthouse to chat with her legion of Animals about the movement and what this case means for other sexual abuse victims.
Protest organizer Michael Eisele felt the reality of his hard work and planning come to life for the early morning rally. "It's exciting to see the last three years laid out in front of us right now," he told iHeartRadio. "These people have been fighting really hard for the last three years for Kesha." And yet, Eisele, who has been aggressively campaigning for the event online, said that the pop star's case extends far beyond the world of celebrity. "It's not just the fandom alone. I think this case represents sexual abuse victims across the world. Kesha is being oppressed because she's speaking out against her sexual abuse," he explained.
Kate Devivo, who helms from New Jersey, arrived at the courthouse at 4:30 AM to show support for the missing-in-action pop star. "She has to make new music. She has to do something," the 19-year-old said. "She's such an original artist and a great inspiration. She means so much to so many people."
She's not the only fan who made sacrifices to show support for her fallen pop hero. After leaving Pennsylvania at 4 AM, Penn Shelly joined the crowd shortly before Kesha made her big arrival. As the owner of popular Twitter fan account @CrazyKeshaFans, he said that his backing was all too necessary. "Her outlook on life is so positive. Her music is phenomenal. Everything about her is perfect and to see her go through such a hard time is so sad," he explained. "She's been there for us. She's like the most kind person you'll ever meet. She'll do anything for her fans, so the least we can do is come out and support her."
Ultimately, Shelly felt like he knew what was going on inside of the singer's head, saying, "She's not going to budge no matter what. It's just such a shame."
Meanwhile, Long Island pair Michael Scarangella and Lindsay Scarpa had a planned mindset if Kesha's injunction against the producer was denied. While Scarangella said that they'll "just keep fighting" to show support for the singer's freedom, Scarpa said that they'll turn focus onto her legacy. "We're still going to be strong. We're not going to forget her ever," she said.
Photo: Splash News