--- title: Kesha is Billboard's Trailblazer of the Year After Trial description: In an acceptance speech for Billboard's Women in Music 'Trailblazer of the Year' award, Kesha acknowledged that the spotlight was draining. canonical: https://time.com/4597808/kesha-billboard-women-speech/ author: Megan Lasher article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-12T18:59:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:05.489Z og:title: Kesha Finds Purpose Behind Her 'Public’ Year og:description: 'Thank you for reminding me that what I'm doing is worth it’ og:url: https://time.com/4597808/kesha-billboard-women-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1387cc762513e2f8/6988b29e0a4a2271b59cc530/kesha-billboard-music-awards-women.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4716 og:image:height: 2653 og:image:alt: US-ENTERTAINMENT-WOMEN IN MUSIC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kesha Finds Purpose Behind Her 'Public’ Year twitter:description: 'Thank you for reminding me that what I'm doing is worth it’ twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1387cc762513e2f8/6988b29e0a4a2271b59cc530/kesha-billboard-music-awards-women.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kesha Finds Purpose Behind Her 'Public' Year > Sponsored content. 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It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=4ed2faf3-2572-4e6e-b438-b634994a23d4&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Dec 12, 2016 6:59 PM UTC  Kesha attends the Billboard Women in Music 2016 event on December 9, 2016 in New York City. / AFP / ANGELA WEISS (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images) Kesha attends the Billboard Women in Music 2016 event on December 9, 2016 in New York City. / AFP / ANGELA WEISS (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images) ANGELA WEISS—AFP/Getty Images by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Dec 12, 2016 6:59 PM UTC Kesha says she has had a very “public” 2016, with her [Dr. Luke trial](http://motto.time.com/4434482/kesha-dr-luke-sexual-assault-lawsuit/) and [personal obstacles](http://motto.time.com/4546563/kesha-body-shaming-dr-luke/) making the news on a [regular basis](http://motto.time.com/4505707/kesha-fans-dr-luke-lawsuit/). In an acceptance speech for [Billboard’s Women in Music ‘Trailblazer of the Year’ award](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kesha-tears-up-during-moving-speech-about-showing-up-for-yourself%5Fus%5F584b1594e4b0bd9c3dfcd6e2?), the famous singer acknowledged that the spotlight was draining, but that it was worth it in the long run to get her message out. Kesha filed a lawsuit against music producer Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald AKA Dr. Luke in 2014, in which she [alleged that he](http://motto.time.com/4546563/kesha-body-shaming-dr-luke/) “sexually, physically, verbally and emotionally abused her for a decade.” In April, a judge dismissed the case and in August Kesha dropped the abuse charges. Dr. Luke maintained his innocence, while Kesha’s contract kept her bound to Sony. Fans and fellow celebrities came together to support her in the [“Free Kesha”](http://freekesha.com/) movement. “If I’m lucky enough to have a voice that someone will listen to, then I should use it for good, for truth,” Kesha said [on Friday night](https://twitter.com/maeve%5Fmcdermott/status/807309939555336193). “And that is why I’ve [recently spoken openly](http://people.com/bodies/kesha-opens-up-about-eating-disorder-struggles/) about some of my struggles including my crippling anxiety and being in recovery from an eating disorder. I know I’m not alone, these are struggles that millions of people around the world deal with on a daily basis.” She said that she decided to make the most of the pressure placed on her by her large platform: “Finding the strength to come forward about these things is not easy, but maybe by me standing here and telling my story, I can help somebody else who’s going through something tough…I knew I had to drag my self out of my bed, put on my damn boots and say thank you to you guys. Thank you for reminding me that what I’m doing is worth it.” > [](https://twitter.com/maeve%5Fmcdermott/status/807309939555336193) Kesha also left fans with an uplifting message of hope, telling them to conquer their fears the way that she has. “I know it’s scary, but once you take the steps to help yourself, your life will change in the best way… If you keep showing up for yourself, you can move mountains.” And most important? “Do not let anyone else ever take your happiness. You are worth it and thank you for reminding me that I’m worth it, too” Watch the full speech at [HuffingtonPost.com](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kesha-tears-up-during-moving-speech-about-showing-up-for-yourself%5Fus%5F584b1594e4b0bd9c3dfcd6e2?) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4597808/kesha-billboard-women-speech/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4597808/kesha-billboard-women-speech/"},"headline":"Kesha Finds Purpose Behind Her 'Public' Year","datePublished":"2016-12-12T18:59:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:05.489Z","description":"'Thank you for reminding me that what I'm doing is worth it’","url":"https://time.com/4597808/kesha-billboard-women-speech/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1387cc762513e2f8/6988b29e0a4a2271b59cc530/kesha-billboard-music-awards-women.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Lasher","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1387cc762513e2f8/6988b29e0a4a2271b59cc530/kesha-billboard-music-awards-women.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-ENTERTAINMENT-WOMEN IN MUSIC","caption":"US-ENTERTAINMENT-WOMEN IN MUSIC","creditText":"ANGELA WEISS—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4597808/kesha-billboard-women-speech/","name":"Kesha Finds Purpose Behind Her 'Public' Year"}}]}] ```