Kesha Addresses How Much Money She Spent in Her Legal Battle With Dr. Luke, Her ‘Party Girl’ Reputation & More

Kesha had so much to say in a new interview.

The 37-year-old “Joyride” hitmaker recently kickstarted a new era, her first since parting ways with Dr. Luke, with a high-octane bop.

During a conversation with Forbes, Kesha touched on a variety of topics. That included her extended legal battle with Luke, her newfound freedom and the “party girl” label that she got after dropping her single “Tik Tok.”

On the topic of her earliest music, Kesha said that it “was full of irony and kind of went over people’s heads.”

“I feel like I got labeled as a party girl and very unintelligent, and that’s a stigma I’ve been trying to fight against my entire career,” she said. The singer added that she originally wanted to go to Columbia University to study psychology and comparative religion.

However, she dropped out of school and got her GED at the urging of record labels she was talking to at the time.

Speaking about her new single “Joyride,” Kesha said that she felt “the most gratitude, happiness.”

“I feel free for the first time since I was 18 years old and I so appreciate every single person that has streamed it, and I love the videos that are being made,” she gushed.

She continued, addressing her battle with Dr. Luke, which was settled last year: “I’ve spent almost 10 years in litigation and millions of dollars in legal fees. This joy has been hard-fought for me, so I love that people are ready to ‘Joyride’ with me.”

Kesha had more to say about record deals and masters, adding that it was something that she wanted to take on and change.

“It’s wild that a human being can lose the rights to their recorded voice in perpetuity in the universe. First of all, changing litigation around that is something that’s on my radar, so if this makes it into the interview – if anybody’s reading this – I would love to connect because it’s atrocious that’s part of the business of making art,” she said. “That’s my first thought – and second of all, I have to say, currently I’m really excited to build a safe space for artists because creation and fear cannot co-exist. When you’re in a state of fear, you cannot create, and I know this from personal experience.”

When asked what advice or message she would have for her younger self, Kesha had a simple but touching response: “I wish I could give her a big hug and I would say – Listen, it’s going to be hard but you’re going to make it and then you’re going to change the world because of this.”

If you missed it, an actress seemingly called out Katy Perry for working with Dr. Luke on a new song.

Meanwhile, Kesha had a pointed response for body shamers.