Pop star Demi Lovato ripped fellow artist Taylor Swift on Sunday after Swift donated $250,000 to help cover legal fees for rapper Kesha, who lost a bid last week to be released from her Sony contract under her producer and alleged rapist Dr. Luke.
Kesha, real name Kesha Rose Sebert, broke down in tears last week in a New York courtroom after a judge decided that the “TiK ToK” singer could not be released from her recording contract with Sony. Kesha had alleged that her producer, Dr. Luke, drugged and raped her at a party, and had sought to be released from her Sony contract to work with other producers.
The fallout from the court decision led to the creation of the social media hashtag #FreeKesha, which trended on Twitter over the weekend.
In a show of support, Taylor Swift donated $250,000 to Kesha to help with the singer’s financial needs “during this trying time.” Sources close to Kesha told TMZ that the rapper was struggling financially after Dr. Luke allegedly withheld royalty payments to her for the last three years.
But fellow pop star Demi Lovato wasn’t impressed with Swift’s help, tweeting Sunday that Swift could have done more to help the struggling rapper.
“Take something to Capitol Hill or actually speak about something and then I’ll be impressed,” Lovato tweeted after news of Swift’s donation became public.
According to E!, Lovato reportedly followed up by replying to fans on a Taylor Swift Instagram fan page who accused her of making Kesha’s legal situation about herself.
“How the f—k am I making this about myself? At least I’m talking about it. Not everyone has 250k to just give to people,” Lovato reportedly commented. “Would love to but I didn’t grow up with money and def haven’t made as much as her. At least I speak up about s—t that’s uncomfortable to talk about rather than trying to be politically correct 24/7.”
“I didn’t shade Taylor. If you take it that way than fine,” the “Confident” singer reportedly added. “I’m just tired of seeing women use ‘women empowerment’ and ‘feminism’ to further brands without actually being the ones that have the uncomfortable conversations. I get shade and I don’t give a f–k because someone has to be the one to take it. At least I’m getting my hands dirty.”
Lovato tweeted her own message of support to Kesha on Saturday afternoon:
On Sunday, the singer posted a series of tweets about female empowerment and expressed her frustration with “self-proclaimed feminists.”