The Week on Twitter | GE16, Exit Polls, & Free Kesha
This week, the general election happened, and Twitter was awash with tweets about polling booths, exit polls, the demise of the country as we know it, and ballot papers. We also saw the whole of the internet transform into a viral campaign to #FreeKesha, after the singer lost her legal battle against Dr Luke and Sony. As well as this, lots of black people recorded trap covers of lots of white songs. It was great.
@KeshaRose loses sexual assault case against #DrLuke and Sony #FreeKesha
Over the weekend, it was reported that Kesha had lost her court battle against Dr Luke – her producer and alleged abuser of ten years. Kesha originally sued Dr Luke for battery, sexual assault, and emotional distress a few years ago in an attempt to break her contract with Luke’s record label and Sony. This week, it was revealed that Kesha would not be permitted to exit her contract, and was to legally record six more albums for the label.
Following the verdict, thousands upon thousands of fans, recording artists, and general people who believe forcing somebody to work with their abuser is wrong, took to Twitter to condemn the court’s decision, and to demand justice for Kesha. The ‘Free Kesha’ hashtag trended worldwide for over a day, as the social media site became inundated with messages of support for the singer, her family, and anyone else who has ever been afraid to speak out about sexual abuse.
dear anyone who ever asked a woman why she didn't report her rape, are you getting it now? #FreeKesha
— Lane Moore (@hellolanemoore) February 22, 2016
https://twitter.com/musicnews_shade/status/703263597502181376
You can support #freekesha without mentioning you don't like her music.
Your music taste is the least important part of that message.— Alison Spittle (@AlisonSpittle) February 22, 2016
I stand with Kesha. Do you? Show your signs of respect with a RT for @KeshaRose #FreeKesha pic.twitter.com/umz5B5Y8D9
— NI₳MH SYGRØVE (@poltergxist) February 19, 2016
People spend a lot of time hating @kanyewest for interrupting a blonde woman, and no time condemning Dr Luke for raping one. #FreeKesha
— Aaron Marsh (@AaronMarshMusic) February 27, 2016
Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, Adele, Lorde and many more also used Twitter to extend their love and support to Kesha, and to express their disgust with an industry that actively promotes the dehumanisation of its female artists.
Free Kesha pic.twitter.com/8BjZXq98Qf
— xoxo, Gaga (@ladygaga) February 24, 2016
#PeopleOverProfit you can #FreeKesha if you #FreeDrLuke Do what is RIGHT not what is better for business 🙏🏼 https://t.co/WPqvZvUyk5
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) February 27, 2016
We love you and support you @kesharose you are the strongest, most brave friend we have and we stand by you forever. #freekesha
— HAIM (@HAIMtheband) February 22, 2016
https://twitter.com/ddlovato/status/701134345545748480
#FreeKesha No one should have to be forced to work in a toxic environment against their will.
— Laurie Holden (@Laurie_Holden) February 27, 2016
During the week, Kesha released a statement in which she thanked everyone supporting her for their kindness, and encouraged anybody afraid to speak out about their abuse to do so.
#GE16 campaigns grind to a halt. Everybody votes. #ExitPolls are released.
Well, that’s it. The leader’s debates are over. The votes have been cast. The posters are about to come down. The ballots are being counted. Labour will soon disappear. General election 2016 is over. Almost.
Right this second as I am typing this very sentence we don’t yet know what sort of tragic government we’re going to get stuck with for the next four years, but if the exit polls and early tallies are anything to go by, it may very well be a Fine Gael/Fianna Fail coalition, much to the dismay of the good people of the country who didn’t vote for them, everyone who actually gives a fuck about Irish women, and even some FF/FG supporters, who are afraid that Gerry Adams will become automatic leader of the opposition should this coalition go ahead.
#exitpoll This is going to be ugly. Ever election I think it can't get any worse and the electorate response is "challenge accepted!"
— Aidan O'Brien (@ArtimusFoul) February 27, 2016
That point of election morning where currents of #exitpoll and actual but partial tally counts intersect, creating glorious confusion #GE16
— Ben Tonra (@Bentonra) February 27, 2016
Breakdown of #exitpoll It would seem that the bounce in FFs vote happened everywhere outside of Dublin. pic.twitter.com/8QO8ddtnqm
— F**K NAZI trump … (@PolymathBGD) February 27, 2016
Oh god, we've have become the twins in The Parent Trap trying to trick our divorced parents into getting back together. #GE16 #exitpoll
— Shane Hegarty (@shanehegarty) February 27, 2016
But it’s still early days, and as it stands about 50% of ballot boxes around the country have been opened and counted. There appears to be a lot of support for Independents and smaller parties, which is nice, but there also seems to be a massive resurgence in support for Fianna Fail, which is not so nice. It’s awful in fact, and left just about everybody wondering how anybody with a bit of sense/a vague memory of recent past events could actually put their trust in such a party.
That "22%" is really insulting to the thousands and thousands of people who were forced out of this country #exitpoll
— Allison (@AllisonD_96) February 27, 2016
#exitpoll the people have spoken – in one clear voice they have said "eh , I'm not sure – not him, not her – can you come back to me"
— colin kennedy (@charlie0404) February 27, 2016
If I was the one who came up with the 'keep the recovery going' slogan, I'd be tiptoeing towards the door right now #GE16 #exitpoll
— Gillian Nelis (@gnelis) February 26, 2016
Listening to the results and the sky is, literally, getting darker #GE16
— Sue Kirk (@SueKirk) February 27, 2016
#TrapCovers make the week a little less terrible
Lately, white people have done some stupid things. Been supporters of Donald Trump. Condemned gun control. Thought that reverse racism is real. Denied that Ted Cruz is in fact the Zodiac killer. Danced.
Another stupid thing that white people have done recently is record covers of songs that they have no business recording, like Beyoncé’s ‘Formation,’ and Rihanna’s ‘Work.’ The results were astounding, mesmerising, and truly inspiring, but not at all in the ways that white people had hoped they would have been.
Enter #TrapCovers – a means of responding to every single god awful white rap you’ve ever heard, while also vastly improving a lot of the god awful white people songs you’ve ever heard too. Trap covers took Twitter by storm yesterday, and it was great, because Twitter this week had been a fairly dismal place. That was, until, #TrapCovers. They’re good. Watch them.
https://twitter.com/The_RapGirl/status/703434680880799744
#trapcovers rolling in the deep and set fire to the rain #onsauce @Sauce_Walka102 pic.twitter.com/Fyt1Unr4KJ
— Da Trill O'neal (@jamalbaul) February 26, 2016
Hello – Adele (#TrapCover) ft. @TheePharoah pic.twitter.com/ProIAVJ5mS
— Bruhman (@monstta) February 26, 2016
Hey Jude – The Beatles (#TrapCover) inspired by the acoustic covers of Beyonce's "Formation" pic.twitter.com/WjYJ0ne0Wx
— golden boy (@NathanZed) February 25, 2016
we were on the news / radio / everywhere for doing what black people do on the daily….. turning something mediocre into gold#TrapCovers
— Demetrius Harmon (@meechonmars) February 27, 2016