NEED TO KNOW
Kesha revealed that she previously tore her ACL on stage while performing at a festival in Dubai
The singer said she was accused of being drunk for the performance, when instead she was injured
Kesha’s new album . (PERIOD) is out now
Kesha revealed that she once tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) while performing live on stage – and that she still finished the performance.
Kesha, 38, spoke about the injury on Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky on Tuesday, July 8. The singer, who released her new album . (PERIOD) on July 4, opened up about the pressure to perform through the painful injury earlier in her career.
“It was hard for me. I remember I tore my ACL on stage. That was brutal, and in like song three or something. I was playing a festival in Dubai and I tore my ACL and I f—— got up and I played guitar and I sang and I finished the f—— show,” the “Your Love Is My Drug” singer said.
“Are you serious?” Lewinsky, 51, asked. Kesha responded, “Yes. ‘Cause I’m a bad bitch,” to which Lewinsky laughed.
The singer then elaborated, “But I wake up the next day and I’m like, ‘Wow, I am such a f——monster badass. And I wake up and there’s an article on TMZ saying I was drunk at the show.”
“Wow,” Lewinsky responded. Kesha then clarified, “Literally, Abso-f——lutely never have one drink before a show ever. Well, I did one time, the first time I played Lollapalooza in 2009. And after that, I literally did that one time and I was like ‘Okay I’m never doing that again. I’m never drinking before a show.’ “
“So like things like that have hurt me and that people think that I don’t know that [they] hurt my feelings,” Kesha said.
“I’m sorry for what you’ve had to go through,” Lewinsky responded.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Kesha performs with T-Pain at the Palomino Stage during the 2025 Stagecoach Festival on April 25, 2025 in Indio, California.
Kesha then reflected on the harsh nature of the public eye that both she and Lewinsky experienced. Lewinksy was famously embroiled in an affair scandal with former President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s that led to intense cyberbullying in the early ages of the internet. This later inspired Lewinksy’s mental health advocacy work.
“And like would we both be sitting here had we not gone through those things? Probably not. And it has made us into the people that we are. And you seem like a f——- badass. I know I’m a f——-badass,” Kesha said.
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Outside of criticism of her live performances, Kesha also sued producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald based on allegations of sexual, emotional and physical abuse in 2014. He denied the claims and filed a countersuit the same year. In 2016, her claims were dismissed by a judge due to the alleged events falling outside of the statute of limitations. They settled his lawsuit out of court in 2023.
New episodes of Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky, which is distributed by Wondery, drop weekly on Tuesdays.
The deluxe edition of . (PERIOD) is out July 8.
Read the original article on People
