Kim Petras stirred up controversy when she announced that her record label has “refused” to give her a release date for her finished album, and now other pop stars are coming forward to support her.
In a string of revealing social media posts on Jan. 20, Petras accused Republic Records of refusing to provide a release date for her new album, tentatively called Detour, despite it being finished six months ago, and said her label has yet to pay her collaborators "for the work they’ve done.”
The 33-year old singer, who became the first openly trans woman to win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance when she took home a Grammy in 2023, also noted that a music video she “filmed and self funded” has yet to be released and that she’s “tired of having no control over my own life or career.”
Petras said she wants to "self-fund and self-curate" her own music and has “formally requested” to be dropped by Republic Records, but assured fans that she plans on “dropping Detour regardless.”
After going public with her disappointment in the inaction of her label, Petras has found support from fellow musicians. Pop star Kesha commiserated with Petras, likening it to her own experiences of having to leave her record label.
“I spent many years fighting for the rights to myself,” Kesha commented on one of Petras X posts. “Watching another woman realize that the 'golden cage' is still a cage isn’t a victory—it’s a tragedy we have to stop repeating. Freedom isn’t a privilege; it’s a birthright. I hear you, I’m sorry Kim.”
The two singers were previously thought to be at odds after Kesha came forward with accusations of verbal, sexual, and physical abuse against music producer Dr. Luke, who produced most of Petras’ past songs, and the “I like Ur Look” singer seemingly supported him, telling NME that she “work with somebody I believe to be an abuser of women,” before later issuing an apology.
While singer-songwriter Grimes didn’t comment directly on one of Petras’ posts, it sparked a lengthy response about the state of the music industry and why artists should stop signing with labels that just want to “throw gasoline” on songs they predict will be hits.
“No amount of advice seems to be able to convince enough artists to stop signing to labels cuz u rly do need to learn this first hand (even I did),” Grimes wrote, adding, “It's interesting to me how undissected the economics of music are and how profoundly and negatively they are impacting music rn.”
Singer Julia Michaels, who used to be signed with Republic Records, also spoke out on behalf of Petras, commenting “Been there” on Billboard's post about the controversy.
