Kesha was moved to tears while accepting the Visibility Award for her contribution to the LGBT community at the Human Rights Campaign's 2016 Nashville Equality Dinner on Saturday.
The "TiK ToK" singer accepted the award with tears in her eyes as she thanked her supporters who have stood by her amid her sexual assault case against music producer Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald.
"I'm going through some personal things that have been really intense and hard lately and I just want to say thank you for any support I've received," Kesha said. "My message today is don't be afraid to speak up against any injustice you experience. Don't let people scare or shame you into changing the things about you that make you unique."
In 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke, alleging that he sexually, physically, emotionally and verbally abused her and asked the judge to release her from her current contract with Dr. Luke's Sony-owned record label.
The singer's request for an injunction was denied by a judge a few weeks ago, after which thousands of fans rallied out in support for her with the #FreeKesha hashtag. Kesha also received plenty of support from celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, who even donated $250K to the singer amid her legal battle.
During her speech, the 29-year-old singer also talked about the "very deep connection" she shared with the LGBT communities while growing up in Nashville, when she considered herself as a "misfit" and spent time with "other social outsiders, many of them in the LGBT community."
"Though back then we didn't know what LGBT meant," she said. "We just knew we got bullied for being ourselves, shamed for being different and encouraged to hide the things that made us unique."
"It's really hard to have confidence in yourself and love yourself when the world criticizes you for being yourself," she continued. "And obviously, there's so many other people who've had it so much harder than me. I've met many members of the LGBT community and some very, very close friends who have come close to taking their own lives because of the abuse they've had to deal with and that is heartbreaking. I don't want to live in a world where we treat each other like that."
"That's why my message has always been about being yourself. And we really have to love each other and support each other," Kesha said.
"Fame is strange and unnatural," she added, "and I'm grateful for it mainly because it has put me in the position where I can actually do something positive for the world."
Watch her full speech below:
