Singer Kesha has filed an appeal against a New York judge's decision which forced her to keep working with Sony and the producer whom she has accused of raping her.
In the appeal filed in a Manhattan court, Kesha's lawyer Mark Geragos compared the situation to "slavery", reports aceshowbiz.com.
"The court erred in basing its decision on its finding that Kesha could record without interference from (Dr. Luke)," Geragos stated.
"Although it recognised that 'slavery was done away with a long time ago' and that '(y)ou can't force someone to work... in a situation in which they don't want to work', the court's ruling requiring Kesha to work for (Dr. Luke)'s companies, purportedly without his involvement, does just that," he continued.
"As the court itself recognised, '(i)t's slavery. You can't do that.'"
Geragos went on to dispute the judge's opinion that no "irreparable harm" had been done to Kesha's career.
"Kesha submitted affidavits by individuals with over 100 years of collective personal experience in the music industry, each of whom attested to the fact that a young pop star's fame will fade quickly, and permanently, due to a loss of momentum," he argued.
Kesha sued Luke in 2014, claiming he drugged and sexually abused her when they were working together.
The allegations have all been denied by Luke and his team, who pointed out that Kesha herself once said under oath that he "never made sexual advances" toward her.
After Kesha filed her appeal, Luke's lawyer Christine Lepera issued a statement in which she said: "The court repeatedly stated Kesha was already free to record without Dr. Luke, and that she had not presented any facts supporting her claims. That's because all the evidence -- including Kesha's own sworn testimony -- show her allegations are false".
