Less than a week after it was announced that Kesha would be performing at this year’s Billboard Music Awards (BBMA), Dr. Luke and his label, Kemosabe Records, have officially barred the singer from taking the stage to perform.
“Kesha accepted an invitation to perform on the show and she received written approval from Dr. Luke’s record label, Kemosabe Records,” Dick Clark Productions, the company in charge of producing the BBMAs, said in a statement on Tuesday. “Kemosabe subsequently rescinded its approval following a media report on Wednesday, May 11, regarding Kesha’s appearance on the BBMAs. Unfortunately, Kesha and Kemosabe have since been unable to come to an agreement for Kesha to perform on the show.”
The “media report” is likely a reference to a story published on TMZ on the same day. The report stated that Kesha would use her BBMA performance to make a “statement” about her ongoing legal battle with Dr. Luke. It was to include direct references to the sexual abuse allegations and possibly even including images of Dr. Luke’s face.
In an Instagram post from earlier today, Kesha claimed that her performance was actually going to be a tribute cover of ‘It Ain’t Me, Babe” by Bob Dylan.
Kesha used the Instagram post to clarify the purpose of her scheduled performance at the BBMAs. She said, “I was never going to use a picture of [Dr. Luke], speak of him or allude to my legal situation in any way. I simply wanted to sing a song I love to honor an artist I have always looked up to.”
Currently, Dick Clark Productions is hoping that Kesha, Dr. Luke and Kemosabe Records will be able to reach an agreement in time for the event.
“Dick Clark Productions has a long standing relationship with Kesha,” Dick Clark Productions said in its statement. “We hope that the parties can come to an agreement such that we can continue that long standing relationship with a performance by Kesha on the Billboard Music Awards stage on May 22nd.”
