“It wouldn’t be a hit without her” — Fans react as Kesha’s credit reportedly gets removed from Pitbull’s ‘Timber’ music video and audio on YouTube

Recently, a Reddit post claimed that singer Kesha’s name has been removed from Pitbull’s 2013 song Timber music video and audio on YouTube. The singer was initially listed as a featured artist for the song, however her name has reportedly been removed.

The post, which was uploaded on August 17 by user u/peripheralpill had a screenshot of the music video and stated the same. Now, once the post went public, netizens took to X to express their opinion and state that the song was popular because of Kesha, and without her, it wouldn't be the same.

“She carried the song it wouldn’t be a hit without her," commented one X user.

Other people also shared similar sentiments.

“Kesha is the only reason why we know this song???” wrote another X user.

“That’s weird … it was bc of her that it was a hit,” someone else wrote.

“And she carried this song tbh,” another one said.

“That’s ridiculous. Kesha carried that song, and this just feels like erasing her contribution,” stated another netizen.

Meanwhile, many other users were confused about this issue and took to social media to ask for explanations and insights

“That song is trash without Kesha so what’s the purpose?” asked one user.

“Why tho?” questioned another one.

“Why would they do that?” another X user posed a similar question.

“Wait no this is hilarious. Does anyone know why yet?” another one asked a similar question.

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No one knows who removed Kesha’s name from Pitbull’s Timber video on YouTube and why

The singer filed a lawsuit against producer Dr. Luke in 2016 (Image via Christopher Polk/Billboard Awards 2014/Getty Images)

Internet users with keen eyes have observed that the name of pop singer Kesha has been taken off from the title of rapper Pitbull's 2013 hit song Timber on YouTube. Nevertheless, her name remains visible in the video description's credits, which reads,

“Official Video for “Timber” by Pitbull featuring Ke$ha.”

In addition, the music video's "About" section still lists her as the song's featured artist on Google.

According to Billboard, Timber, the lead track from Pitbull's October 7, 2013, is the 90th most popular song of the decade. It topped the charts in more than 15 countries and peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in a row.

Furthermore, according to the IFPI, the song became the 6th best-selling song of 2014 with 9.6 million units sold globally, including single-track downloads and track-equivalent streams.

While there have been no consensus or official reports, Reddit users speculated that the song's co-producer, Dr. Luke, was behind this removal. The pop singer and Dr. Luke have been at each other’s throats since October 2014, when the singer filed a civil lawsuit against the producer alleging misogyny, s*xual harassment, civil harassment, breaking California's anti-unfair business practice laws, deliberate and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring and supervision.

In her counterclaim filed in New York, the Crazy Kids singer claimed that Dr. Luke had mistreated her "s*xually, physically, verbally, and emotionally" ever since their professional relationship began. According to the lawsuit, he called the singer unpleasant names, threatened to harm her and her family, and drugged and s*xually assaulted her twice.

In return, Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, sued the singer and her mother, Rosemary Patricia "Pebe" Sebert, in the New York Supreme Court, alleging breach of contract and defamation.

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Furthermore, all of the singer's accusations have been refuted by Gottwald, who also stated that the singer and her mother made "defamatory statements in an attempt to extort Gottwald [Dr. Luke] into releasing the singer from her exclusive recording agreement" in the court filings supporting his defamation lawsuit against them. Meanwhile, it also came to light that Kesha had previously testified under oath in 2011 that the producer had never drugged or attacked her, prior to her legal struggle with Dr. Luke.

However, according to the popstar and her attorneys, these claims were not true and the product of r*pe trauma (C-PTSD) syndrome, fear, abuse, and bullying. The litigation went on for seven years before Kesha and Dr. Luke jointly announced on June 22, 2023, that they had formally reached a settlement.