Kesha inspired The Runaways star to come forward with rape ordeal

Pop star Kesha's legal battle with producer and collaborator Dr. Luke prompted former The Runaways star Jackie Fox to come forward with the truth about her teenage rape ordeal at the hands of the group's manager Kim Fowley.

The rocker's story was published by The Huffington Post last week (ends10Jul15) and sparked an immediate debate about what female stars have to put up with in the male-dominated music industry.

In her big reveal, Fox claimed Fowley drugged and raped her when she was just 16 at a New Year's Eve party in the mid-1970s, while bandmates and friends watched.

Now, speaking to Billboard, the bassist, real name Jackie Fuchs, reveals Kesha's legal wrangle with Dr. Luke inspired her to tell her story.

Last year (14), the TiK ToK hitmaker accused Dr. Luke, real name Lukasz Gottwald, of submitting her to years of sexual, physical, verbal and emotional abuse, which led to a 60-day stint in a rehab facility.

Fox has no comment on Kesha's allegations against her former collaborator, but she admits she was astonished by the reactions to her claims, stating, "The thing that was the final impetus for me to come forward and talk was how the media was treating her allegations, because she stayed friendly with Dr. Luke after this incident supposedly happened.

"People were saying, 'Obviously her allegations can't be true, because she stayed friendly with him'. That completely ignores the fact that people stay friendly with their abusers when they know the person, especially where there's a business relationship.

"I stayed friendly with Kim over the years, and I think it was in large part because I wanted to convince myself that I hadn't been affected by what he had done to me. I wanted to let him know that he hadn't affected my life. It was a lie I was telling myself, but it was a way of proving to myself that I was OK with it. It's taken this long for me to realize, 'No, I really wasn't OK'.

"No one knows what the truth is in any given situation, but I'm very disturbed that he (Dr. Luke) chose to confront the allegations with a lawsuit. It sends a message to women that you don't dare speak out against someone who is rich and powerful. I really hope it doesn't have a chilling effect on women who are victims of sexual abuse."

Fox also tells the publication she was stunned by the tributes to Fowley after the svengali and producer died in January (15), adding, "Suddenly he got that whitewashing that happens so often with people who are recently deceased. It's like, he told people that he was a legend, and they started to repeat it. I kind of wonder, what did he really do that was so legendary?

"The thing that he is known for is The Runaways. We almost faded from history. The reason that we are more than a footnote to history is because there were people in the band who kept going in the face of horrible sexism and difficulties. The fact that they did so means that people are still talking about the band 40 years later. I give them a lot of credit, because I have an idea of what they went through."