Kesha Declares Sexuality Shouldn’t Be ‘Shrouded in Shame’: ‘Give Yourself the Permission to Be Proud’ (Exclusive)

Kesha knows it’s important to be yourself.

The pop star, 38, recently partnered with Feeld for the dating app’s Fighting Loneliness in Our Digital World panel at South by Southwest in Austin, where she spoke in-depth about why living in your truth is crucial in an age when many people want to present themselves as flawless.

“The most attractive vibration a human being can give off is not perfection, it’s authenticity. Sometimes you look at pictures that have been photoshopped, and everything is so symmetrical and so airbrushed, and it just looks weird,” she tells PEOPLE after the panel. “That’s because perfection is actually quite unnatural.”

Feeld, marketed as the “dating app for open-minded individuals,” offers a space for its users to get real about what kinds of connections they’re looking for without shame — a concept that aligns with Kesha’s values.

“Sexuality should not be something that’s shrouded in shame. I am a really big proponent of just be who you are and give yourself the permission to be proud and authentic in that,” she says.

Ever since hitting the scene over 15 years ago with the hit song “TiK ToK” Kesha has spent her career promoting inclusivity for all types of people. She’s been an especially strong advocate for the LGBTQ + community, a value the “Joyride” singer says was instilled by witnessing a “lack of inclusion and a lack of acceptance” at a young age.

“I remember saying when I began, if I have to tour the world, I’m going to make sure that my shows are a place where people can come be in their sexuality, because growing up as a woman or a girl, questioning my sexuality, I didn’t find community in that,” she explains. “I felt pretty isolated.”

At times, Kesha found herself wanting to suppress the parts of herself that weren’t accepted by others — but that didn’t work for long. “I decided that actually I might not be the best, I might not be for everybody, but I’m going to be the f—ing best at being myself,” she says. “And I think that was a beautiful lesson.”

Recently, the Grammy-nominated artist has been quite candid about what she’s looking for romantically — “a sugar daddy and a yacht,” she told On the Red Carpet in December 2024.

Working with the dating app allows Kesha to unabashedly embrace exactly what she wants. “I really love that Feeld embraces you for wherever you’re at in your sexual journey, whatever that means to you,” she says.

“I have explored non-monogamy. I’ve been in love with many, many men and many, many women, and currently where I’m at is I am looking for a sugar daddy,” she adds. “I love being able to just be open and honest about it, because I’m f—ing into somebody taking care of me, putting me on a pedestal, taking me on their yacht and flying me on their plane. I’m just into it, and I will not feel shame about that.”

Looking to the future, Kesha’s sticking to her guns with her romantic prospects. “I’ve dated a lot of very cool, very broke hipsters with very bad attitudes, and so I’m trying to swing the pendulum 180 degrees and go in the entirely opposite direction,” she says. “I want someone that goes to an office building because they own the office building.”