Why is Kesha an LGBTQ Legend?
I will never forget my first Kesha concert. Mostly because a friend came within two inches of having to go to the emergency room.
About ten of us had decided to tailgate before the concert (a joint Pitbull-Kesha concert that sadly came before they released the amazing “Timber”), and when you pre-game a Kesha concert, you go hard or go home. Hard enough where one of my best friends had no idea Kesha was even on stage until 15 minutes into her set. (He turned to me after Kesha had already sung two songs: “I thought they were just playing her songs over the speaker!” Idiot.)
The whole stadium was LIT. My friends and I were each wearing 15–20 glow bracelets/necklaces and handing out hundreds of extra ones to the people around us. By the end, we were giving each other piggy back rides like we were in third grade. That’s when one of us (the same kid who didn’t even realize Kesha was on stage — who by the way was wearing a pink tutu around his neck and is allegedly straight) decided to charge directly at me, with another friend still on his back. They made it about two steps before she went flying off of him toward the ground.
Her knees were a mess and she scraped her elbow, but she missed hitting her head by about two inches. We felt stupid but laughed it off and continued to be carefree and happy in that moment. And you’re kind of allowed to be stupid for one epic night at a Kesha concert.
That’s part of why Kesha is an LGBTQ icon: she stands for enjoying the hell out of every second and putting love and fun before hate and drudgery.
With so many sad things happening in Kesha’s life recently, let’s focus on the positive here and celebrate the many sides of the girl most of us know as an epic party animal. For example, did you know she’s also an accomplished songwriter — not just for herself, but many of your favorite stars? Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, and The Veronicas are just some of the people she’s written for. You might have heard of this little number:
Kesha is also a driven artist, and the only thing you need to know about that is that she once snuck into Prince’s house (yes, that Prince) to try to give him her demos before she became famous.
Another Kesha fact: she claims to have had sex with a ghost and wrote an amazing song about it.
She’s also extremely smart. Not all of us get a 1500 on our SATs.
And the girl can SANG!
Last but certainly not least, Kesha has always fought for her LGBTQ fans. She’s never forgotten about us, so let’s not forget about her.
LGBTQ Legends is a series I’m writing to try and figure out what makes someone special to the LGBTQ community. Maybe we connected with one of their songs in high school, or found their performance in our favorite movie to be truly moving. Maybe they’ve been fighting for LGBT rights for years, and we appreciate how far we’ve come with their help. They can be performers, politicians, or even fictional characters — so long as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer people feel a connection with them. Let me know if there’s anyone you’d like me to profile!