January 28, 2018

Kesha Delivered the Devastating #MeToo Moment the Grammys Needed

“After everything you’ve done, I can thank you for how strong I have become,” the singer later tweeted.

Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock

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Janelle Monáe stepped out onto this year’s Grammy’s stage and didn’t lose a beat. Voicing a message of solidarity with fellow women in the industry, Monáe put the #TimesUp and #MeToo movements in the spotlight on one of mainstream music’s biggest nights.

“Time’s up for the abuse of power because you see, it’s not just going on in Hollywood, it’s not just going on in Washington,” she said, “It’s right here in our industry as well. And just as we have the power to shape culture, we also have the power to undo the culture that does not serve us well. So let’s work together women and men, as a united music industry, committed to creating more safe work environments, (with) equal pay and access for all women.” Mic drop. 

But Monáe wasn’t finished. She was also tasked with introducing the next musical performer, Kesha, an artist that’s fought a very public legal battle against her alleged abuser and former producer, Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald. Kesha accused Dr. Luke of sexual and physical abuse, but was bound by the contracts she held with him and his label, Kemosabe Records, and couldn’t release new music for years. 

At the Grammy’s she performed “Praying,” a song off of her first album in five years, Rainbow. Kesha gave an emotional performance, singing the chorus, “I hope you’re somewhere prayin’, prayin’; I hope your soul is changin’, changin’; I hope you find your peace; Falling on your knees, prayin’.”

She was joined on stage by the Resistance Revival Chorus, Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello, Julia Michaels, Bebe Rexha, and Andra Day.

The performance was devastating but powerful—and if the group hug at the end was any indication, a cathartic experience for both Kesha and the women around her. For those watching, it was a #MeToo moment that resounded far beyond Madison Square Garden.

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Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

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“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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