NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Pop singer Kesha appeared in a New York City courtroom Friday in the latest chapter of her long running legal dispute with music producer Dr. Luke.

Kesha was in tears as she left the courtroom after a judge ruled she will not be released from her longterm record deal with Sony, despite the singer’s claim that Dr. Luke sexually abused her for years, 1010 WINS’ Glenn Schuck reported. The contract would require Kesha to record eight more albums with Dr. Luke.

Kesha’s lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles in 2014, accuses hit-making producer Dr. Luke of raping her and subjecting her to other sexual and emotional abuse for nearly a decade. The abuse led the “Tik Tok” singer to develop a severe eating disorder that required her to enter rehab, according to the lawsuit.

Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, filed a lawsuit against Kesha in New York, calling the claims defamatory and saying his protégé is making them in an attempt to extort him into giving her a better recording deal.

Fans of @KeshaRose rally outside court as singer fights to get out of Sony deal #1010wins pic.twitter.com/DaxrK0exr9 — glenn schuck (@glennschuck) February 19, 2016

Kesha’s lawsuit seeks to invalidate recording agreements she signed with Dr. Luke and his recording company when she turned 18. Kesha, whose real name is Kesha Rose Sebert, is a Nashville native who was lured to Los Angeles by Dr. Luke with promises of a music career, her suit states.

Fans chanting “Free Kesha Now” gathered outside of the courthouse to protest Sony Music Entertainment, who allegedly refused to voluntarily release Kesha from her contract with Dr. Luke.



“It’s horrible, it’s heartbreaking to see her go through this and have her rights being taken away,” one protester said.

“It’s one person versus an entire conglomerate and it’s very hard to take a stand against that,” another protester said. “We’re all supporting her no matter where her career goes from here.”

An online petition has more than 116,000 signatures, CBS2 reports.

“I’m pretty heartbroken right now because if it wasn’t for Kesha and her music, I don’t know where I would be today,” Jared Vollmann told CBS2’s Jill Nicolini.

“It’s inhumane; everything about this trial is sickening, it’s disgusting,” said John Strain.

The singer posted a photo on her Instagram about the case on Thursday, saying that she had ‘nothing left to hide.”

“I did this because the truth was eating away my soul and killing me from the inside. This is not just for me. This is for every woman, every human who has ever been Abused. Sexually. Emotionally. Mentally. I had to tell the truth,” the post continued.

The dispute has sprawled to courts in three states.

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