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Kesha talks social media, new music and being an activist at SXSW

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By Minda Smiley, Reporter

March 15, 2017 | 4 min read

During a conversation at SXSW with Refinery29’s chief content officer Amy Emmerich, pop star Kesha discussed everything from online bullying and social media to being an animal rights activist and her work with the National Eating Disorders Association.

Credit: SXSW

Credit: SXSW

The singer of hits including “Tik Tok” and “We R Who We R” did not discuss her ongoing legal battle with producer Dr. Luke that began in 2014 when she sued him for “sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally” abusing her. Last year, a New York judge denied Kesha’s request for an injunction that would have let her record new music outside of Dr. Luke’s Sony-owned Kemosabe Records, a decision that has stalled her music career.

However, during her talk, Kesha promised fans that she has lots of new music in the works - 70 to 80 songs to be exact - and that she hopes to release it soon.

“I’ve been working pretty much every day all day long on new music,” she said. “Just know that I’ve been diligently making music and I cannot wait to give it to you. I fight that fight every day.”

When it comes to using social media, the 30-year-old singer said that she uses Instagram to connect with fans, but admitted that she doesn’t think the internet is a “healthy place” for her and that she tries to avoid reading comments.

“There are a lot of positive things about social media. I, unfortunately, have felt the effects of some of the negative ones intensely,” she said. “But one very positive thing about social media is that we can connect to each other and we can tell each other where to meet and we can rally and we can march. We can all have voices.”

She advised young people who’ve experienced online bullying to try and spend some time away from the internet, noting that going offline “puts everything back into perspective” for her.

During the session, Kesha also discussed why she’s involved with so many different causes. Aside from being Humane Society International’s first global ambassador, she also recently won the Human Rights Campaign’s Visibility Award for being an advocate of the LGBT community.

“If you have a voice, you have a responsibility to talk about real shit,” she said. “I really want to stand up for people that need people to stand up for them. I very much want to help anyone that needs it.”

Earlier this month, the pop star appeared in a PSA for the National Eating Disorders Association. After going to rehab earlier in her career for an eating disorder, Kesha said that she now feels obligated to talk about her experience publicly even though it’s not always easy.

“I just want people to know that they’re not alone. I used to never want to talk about it. I used to be so embarrassed. And now I feel like I really want to talk about it because I want to help people. I think the only sense in this life I can make of going through something like that is to help other people,” she said.

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