Billboard Is Polling Music Executives on Whether or Not They Believe Kesha's Abuse Allegations

A confidential survey recently sent by Billboard to top music executives asks participants to weigh in on a variety of gossipy issues, like what artists are secretly the biggest assholes, what Justin Bieber’s career will be like in a few years, and—most questionably—whether or not they believe that Kesha was sexually and physically abused by Dr. Luke.

The survey, now closed, was first publicly shared on Music Business Worldwide. Tim Ingham writes:

Billboard is asking ‘top music-industry executives’ to speculate on whether a woman was the victim of sustained sexual abuse, or whether she is unjustly defaming a man with a terrible crime.

The details of this case are so unsavoury and concerning that even the online gossip pit Jezebel was sensible enough to write: ‘The best way to keep your faith in human decency intact is to stay, far far away from the Dr. Luke/Kesha lawsuit saga. Every single day the story gets uglier and sadder.’

A sincere plea to Billboard, then: will someone please question what the best outcome is here?

(Emphasis theirs.)

I, as a writer for the online gossip pit Jezebel, reached out to Billboard Senior Editor Frank DiGiacamo (whose email was listed on the survey) to understand how the Kesha/Dr. Luke question fits into the larger context of the Billboard piece. Understandably, he was unable to give me details. We will follow up when the article is published on September 11.