Kesha Details 'Brutal' Onstage Injury During Festival Performance

By Sarah Tate

July 10, 2025

Photo: Getty Images

Kesha is opening up about the time she pushed through a "brutal" injury on stage.

During a July 8 appearance on the Reclaiming with Monica Lewisnky podcast, the "Joyride" singer detailed the time she was performing at a festival early on in her career when she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) partway through her set, per People. While that would knock anyone off their feet — literally — Kesha kept the show going.

"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," she said. When Lewinsky asked if she was "serious," Kesha quipped, "Yes. 'Cause I'm a bad b----."

While she felt like "bada--" the next morning, she was immediately met with hurtful accusations that she was inebriated during her performance, telling Lewinsky, "I wake up and there's an article on TMZ saying I was drunk at the show," even though she makes it a habit not to drink before performing live.

"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,'" she said, adding, "So like thinks like that have hurt me and that people think that I don't know that [they] hurt my feelings."

Elsewhere in the interview, the "Tik ToK" singer shared the surprising secret to her "gorgeous" skin, and its a beauty trend that has drawn in other celebs like Miley Cyrus and Kim Kardashian.

Kesha
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