A Full Rundown of the Ongoing Legal Drama Between Kesha, Sony, and Dr. Luke

Kesha's lawsuit against Dr. Luke was first filed on Oct. 14, 2014. It details how Dr. Luke forced Kesha to take date-rape drugs, and how she woke up naked in his bed the next day. She claims to have been "sore and sick, with no memory of how she got there." She also claims he induced her to drop out of high school and leave her family behind at age 18. There's also a mention of "sexual harassment, gender violence, civil harassment, unfair business, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress."

In her amended complaint, which surfaced in June 2015, Kesha asserted that "Dr. Luke's proclivity for abusive conduct was open and obvious to [Sony Music Entertainment] Doe executives, who either knew of the conduct and turned a blind eye, failed to investigate Dr. Luke's conduct, failed to take any corrective action, or actively concealed Dr. Luke's abuse." More poignantly, the amendment states, "based on SME's conduct, SME has forced an abusive relationship between Dr. Luke and Ms. Sebert to this day."

Around the same time, a California judge put the case on hold. Though Kesha had filed the lawsuit in California, her contract with Sony stipulated that legal proceedings would be handled in New York.

In September 2015, almost a year after the original lawsuit emerged, Kesha pushed for an injunction — which, in simple terms, would force the judge to make a decision on the case — citing that her career would be over if she couldn't make new music. According to the memo, "her brand value has fallen, and unless the Court issues this injunction, Kesha will suffer irreparable harm, plummeting her career past the point of no return." The injunction itself would have barred Dr. Luke from interfering, should Kesha sign a contract with another label.

Meanwhile, the drama started getting worse as Sony weighed in for the first time. The company not only insisted that it was merely "caught in the crossfire," but referred to Kesha's claims as a "transparent and misguided attempt to renegotiate her contracts." In a statement, Sony also said, "This admission — that [Kesha] never spoke of or reported the alleged misconduct — is fatal to each and every one of her claims . . . she cannot claim that Gottwald intimidated her into silence, then — as an apparent afterthought — seek to hold Sony and Kemosabe Records liable for failing to act on conduct that she did not report."

In Fall 2015, fans of the singer began to really take notice of her struggles. In September, the #FreedomForKesha hashtag went viral, trending on Twitter and popping up in scores of new articles. There was even a petition to release the singer from her record contract.

On the day before her Feb. 19 proceedings in court, Kesha took to Twitter with a grateful, inspired, and optimistic message:

In February 2016, Kesha and Dr. Luke finally squared off in NYC. New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich denied the injunction, saying, "You're asking the court to decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated and typical for the industry." She also cited a lack of medical evidence — such as hospital records — needed to corroborate Kesha's allegations of sexual abuse. The judge did not, however, make a decision on whether or not to dismiss the case entirely.

Kesha was clearly devastated by the judge's ruling. A picture of her crying in the courtroom began making the rounds on the Internet almost immediately:

According to the New York Times, terminating Kesha's contract was never really an option for Sony. Scott A. Edelman, an attorney who represented the company, shed further light on the issue: "Sony has made it possible for Kesha to record without any connection, involvement, or interaction with Luke whatsoever, but Sony is not in a position to terminate the contractual relationship between Luke and Kesha . . . Sony is doing everything it can to support the artist in these circumstances, but is legally unable to terminate the contract to which it is not a party."

According to an exclusive report from The Wrap, SME was expected to drop Dr. Luke one year before the official expiration of his contact. While Sony said they had "no comment" on the rumor, Dr. Luke's lawyers insisted that his relationship with the company was just fine. No official word on the status of Dr. Luke's contract has been released since.

In late March 2016, Kesha appealed the New York Supreme Court's decision to keep her tied to her contract with Sony and Dr. Luke. The singer and her lawyers compared the denial of Kesha's request for an injunction to "slavery."

In early April 2016, Kesha posted a legal update on her Instagram. She could have her freedom if she recanted (and apologized for) all of her allegations of sexual abuse. Kesha refused.

Just days after Kesha's sad Instagram update, a New York judge tossed out the case, saying Kesha was being "unreasonable" because Sony was "ready, willing and able to approve a producer with whom Kesha can work other than [Dr. Luke]." The court dismissed Kesha's allegations of sexual abuse as well.

In May 2016, Dr. Luke's lawyers requested a breach in doctor-patient confidentiality. According to a letter to a New York judge, "[Luke] should be permitted discovery regarding [Kesha]'s abuse allegations, including her specific contentions that such abuse caused her to seek medical treatment and enter rehab."

As for the California proceedings? Kesha dropped them in August 2016. "Kesha is focused on getting back to work and has delivered 28 new songs to the record label," a lawyer's statement read. "We have conveyed to Sony Music and the label Kesha's strong desire to release the single and an album as soon as possible."

Outside of the prominent court case, Dr. Luke has been in court for more than three years with a defamation suit against Kesha and her legal team. He even filed a second suit against Kesha's mother, Pebe Sebert, in September 2016. The main force behind Dr. Luke's side of the legal proceedings is that he insists Kesha (and her mother, for that matter) have continued "publishing false and shocking accusations."

The lawsuit against Kesha's mother was eventually dropped, but the defamation lawsuit against Kesha continues. In fact, Dr. Luke's lawyers attempted to subpoena Lady Gaga in July 2017, saying she "has relevant information regarding, among other things, false statements about Dr. Luke made to her by Kesha." Lady Gaga, a frequent support of Kesha, responded: "Dr. Luke's team is attempting to manipulate the truth and draw press attention to their case by exaggerating Lady Gaga's role and falsely accusing her of dodging reasonable requests."

Even in November 2017, the case continued in court. While The Hollywood Reporter conceded that Dr. Luke was perhaps gaining legal ground, the publication also noted that very few people in the music industry will work with the producer. And, for what it's worth, Kesha is obviously winning in the court of public opinion.

In the time since, there have been no official updates to Dr. Luke's case. It is, presumably, still ongoing. It's worth noting that the suit is still in the "discovery" stage, meaning the court is collecting evidence and witnesses before moving forward to trial.

Although Kesha said she would continue to fight for her freedom in NYC, her focus has largely been turned back on her music.

In January 2017, Kesha did just one final interview about the whole legal battle, calling it a "mind f*ck." Shortly thereafter, she released a joint single called "True Colors" with Zedd. Around the same time, in March 2017, Kesha attempted to amend the lawsuit once more. For the third time, she sought freedom from her contract. The court denied her request.

Then, in July, Kesha released her first solo single in four years. "Praying" was obviously a culmination of everything she'd been through with Dr. Luke, but there was no explicit mention of him. Shortly thereafter, in August, Kesha released her third studio album, Rainbow. While it marked a true triumph for the singer, the album's success benefits Dr. Luke.

As it now stands, Kesha continues to pursue the music. At the Grammy Awards in January 2018, she performed "Praying" with a group of powerful women including Cyndi Lauper, Andra Day, Camila Cabello, Alessia Cara, and the women of the Resistance Revival Chorus. She was introduced with a powerful speech from Janelle Monáe, who spoke about the Time's Up Initiative. Suffice it to say, she sent a powerful message to Dr. Luke and the music world at large.

As it stands now, Kesha still owes Sony Music two more albums under her current contract with Dr. Luke. We'll just have to wait and see if that fact changes in the future.