Demi Lovato clarifies Taylor Swift comments after $250,000 donation to Kesha for legal fees

Singer criticised Swift for throwing money at Kesha instead of opening a dialogue about sexual assault

Demi Lovato

Demi Lovato has issued a statement on Instagram calling for women to come together and engender “a real change and shift in society” after criticising Taylor Swift for donating $250,000 to Kesha.

On Friday, a judge ruled Kesha could not terminate her contract with Sony and Dr Luke, real name Lukas Gottwald, who she claims psychologically tormented her and raped her a decade ago after allegedly drugging her with a pill which knocked her out.

The music producer has strenuously denied all of the allegations against him since they were first made. He also denied the allegations in a statement and in a series of tweets posted overnight. “I didn't rape Kesha and I have never had sex with her,” one of his posts read. “Kesha and I were friends for many years and she was like my little sister.”

Lady Gaga, Swift, Ellen DeGeneres, Lovato and Lorde have expressed their support for the singer, with Swift giving her $250,000 to help cover the cost of her legal fees. Lovato’s tweet after this news was announced, “take something to Capitol Hill or actually speak out about something and then I'll be impressed,” was widely considered to be in response to this donation.

Lovato then defended herself in a comment responding to a post on a Swift fan account: “Not everyone has 250k to just give to people. Would love to but I didn't grow up with money and def haven't made as much as her. At least I speak up about s**t that's uncomfortable to talk about rather than trying to be politically correct 24/7.

“There's no ‘rivalry' I just give more f**ks than other people and would rather start a dialogue ABOUT WOMEN COMING FORWARD ABOUT BEING RAPED than throw money at one person.

“I didn't shade Taylor. If you take it that way then fine. I'm just tired of seeing women use ‘women empowerment’ and ‘feminism’ to further brands without actually being the ones that have the uncomfortable conversations. I get shade and I don't give a f**k because someone has to be the one to take it. At least I'm getting my hands dirty.”

Lovato clarified her comments on Monday evening, explaining that her passion for issues “causes me to say things that I probably couldn’t say”.

She wrote: “As most people know, I tend to get fired up about the things I believe in, and although my heart and intentions are always in the right place, unfortunately sometimes my passion gets the best of me and causes me to say things that I probably shouldn't say.

“And when doing so it takes away from the real reason I am speaking up in the first place. Our focus should be on the topic of victims of sexual and physical abuse being afraid to come forward with their stories. They're more likely to face retaliation and harassment than to see justice being served. Especially women. It baffles me that when it comes to serious issues like equality and abuse, too often women are not taken as seriously as men.

“All I want to see is women coming together and actually making a difference. A real change and shift in society. Everyone has their own way of giving support to others, and at the end of the day, helping victims is all that matters. Ultimately, the message I want people to hear is it's okay to come forward with your abuse and if you do decide to take action, you are not alone.”