Ethel Cain is one of the most exciting artists to emerge in the last few years. The Baptist-raised alt-pop star initially gained popularity through posting her songs on Tumblr and SoundCloud, but now, she has entered the mainstream. With all her newfound attention comes newfound scrutiny.

In 2020, Cain signed to Prescription Songs, a music publishing and licensing label owned by Dr Luke, the producer Kesha accused of rape, psychological torment and emotional abuse in a lawsuit she filed in 2014. Since the news went public, discourse has ensued about Cain’s ties to Dr. Luke – and her fans have demanded answers. In her latest interview with Rolling Stone, Cain comes clean about it all.

“I was broke,” Cain explained to Rolling Stone. “I didn’t do a lot of digging until way further down the line… I was literally going to the hospital because I was malnourished, and I was passing out all the time. My landlord was sending me angry texts every day because I was behind on rent. I was like, ‘I need money,’ and I signed.”

Cain maintains that she wasn’t fully aware that Dr Luke ran Prescription, but if she could go and work with someone else, she would: “If I had my choice, I would much prefer to do business with somebody else. I’ll just say that.” 

While fans are not entirely convinced that she didn’t know that Dr Luke owned the publishing company she signed with, Cain stressed that she just wants to focus on finishing her next few releases to fulfil her contract. “We’re almost out,” Cain told Rolling Stone. While she is still under her contract with Prescription, Cain asserts that she is in complete control of the creative process, with Dr Luke not being credited on any of her songs.

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