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American singer-songwriter Kesha appeared on the July 8, 2025, episode of the Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky podcast. During a wide-ranging and soulful conversation with the host, the “TikTok” singer revealed that she had once torn her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while performing live on stage.
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During the aforementioned episode, Kesha detailed that the incident took place at a music festival in Dubai. She added that it was really “hard” for her to perform with a torn ACL. Despite the intense injury, she didn’t leave the stage mid-performance and instead finished her entire lineup.
“It was hard for me. I remember I tore my [anterior cruciate ligament] ACL on stage,” Kesha shared. “That was brutal, and in like song three or something. I was playing a festival in Dubai and I tore my ACL and I f***ing got up and I played guitar and I sang and I finished the f***ing show.”
When Monica Lewinsky expressed disbelief at the story, Kesha confirmed she was being serious. She added that it was her fiery confidence that allowed her to push through and complete the performance like a “bad b*tch.”
The singer further added that the experience left her feeling like a “f**king monster badass” for managing to complete the set. However, her pride was short-lived. The next morning, however, she woke up to a TMZ article that alleged she was "drunk at the show".
Kesha then addressed the rumor head-on, clarifying that she had never consumed alcohol before a major performance. The first and only time she broke that personal rule, she confessed, was during her 2009 appearance at Lollapalooza.
"And after that, I literally did that one time, and I was like, ‘Okay, I’m never doing that again. I’m never drinking before a show," she said to Monica Lewinsky.
Kesha reflects on the emotional toll of her legal battle with Dr. Luke during her Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky podcast interview
During the July 8 Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky podcast interview, Kesha opened up about the immense mental and emotional strain she endured throughout her decade-long legal battle with music producer Dr. Luke, born Lukasz Gottwald.
Kesha first filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke in 2014, accusing him of s*xual, physical, and emotional abuse. In response, Dr. Luke sued her for defamation. While many of the singer's claims were ultimately dismissed due to statutes of limitations, she remained legally bound to Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records for the duration of the case.
One of the most jarring aspects of the ordeal, Kesha detailed, was having to continue releasing music under the very label owned by the man she was in litigation with.
"The recordings of my voice did not legally belong to me in the universe in perpetuity," she explained to Monica Lewinsky.
The singer then explained to Monica Lewinsky the distressing experience of fulfilling a contract while entangled in a legal battle with the person overseeing that same contract.
"To then be delivering music to someone that you’re in litigation with … they’re in control of the promotion, of the budgets, all of it, the release, everything. For years. For 10 years. That was the only way I’d get out of the deal [with Kemosabe], was if I delivered the music… in my mind…It felt inhumane," Kesha explained.
And yet, while grappling with that internal turmoil, the singer added that she was still expected to present a cheerful front in public. Referencing her breakout single, she shared how difficult it was to pretend everything was fine. She recalled being told to go on stage, smile, and sing Tik Tok even while feeling like she was “truly dying inside.”
Kesha further told Monica Lewinsky that while she pretended before her audience, she was always consumed by preparations for the pending trial, which she said forced her to relive the trauma of her alleged assault over and over.
"Every day, all day for 10 years, I couldn’t sleep. I would just sit and think about, like, ‘Make sure you don’t forget this, make sure you don’t forget that when you’re at trial. Write down every traumatizing thing.’ Journals on journals on journals. In the shower, I would just cry and spiral down," she explained
Despite her repeated attempts to appeal to the courts, the singer was legally obligated to release three more albums under the Kemosabe label during her legal dispute: Rainbow in 2017, High Road in 2020, and Gag Order in 2023.
Ironically, it was the commercial underperformance of Gag Order that ultimately led to her freedom. Because the album charted poorly, peaking at just No. 168 on the Billboard 200, the label decided not to continue their contract with her. Within the next three months, she became an independent artist.
Recently, Kesha released her sixth studio album '.' (pronounced Period), on July 4, 2025.
