Kesha's Mom Apologized For The "Cannibal" Lyric That Referenced Jeffrey Dahmer

You know Kesha — and if you're a certain age, you probably spent a decent amount of the late 2000s and early 2010s listening to her music.

Kesha rocking a long braided ponytail, leather top and slacks at Comic Con
Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

It's also possible that you remember her song "Cannibal," from her debut EP of the same name back in 2010.

In the song's second verse, Kesha sings, "Be too sweet and you’ll be a goner / Yeah, I’ll pull a Jeffrey Dahmer."

  Leon Bennett / Getty Images
Leon Bennett / Getty Images

That particular lyric referencing the serial killer has received some new scrutiny on the heels of Netflix's limited series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (which itself has been the subject of criticism).

Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer getting his mugshot taken
Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection

Kesha's mother, Pepe Sebert, is credited as one of the cowriters on "Cannibal," and she recently took to TikTok to explain why she wrote that specific lyric.

@pebesebert

Some context on the lyric that’s bothering people 12 years later. All opinions are valid. Not meant to shut anyone down, just more info #jeffreydahmer #kesha #cannibal #dahmer

? Cannibal - Ke$ha

After taking credit for the specific lyric, Pepe says that Kesha was too young to even know who Jeffrey Dahmer was — and that his name was included in the song because of a rhyming program for songwriters, MasterWriter, that Pepe was using.

  Cindy Ord / Getty Images
Cindy Ord / Getty Images

"We were looking for a rhyme for ‘goner,’" she explained. "At the very end of the widest rhymes was ‘Jeffrey Dahmer.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s the perfect lyric.'"

Kesha performing
Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty Images

“Once again, Jeffrey Dahmer’s name wouldn’t even be in the song if it wasn’t for the MasterWriter that threw his name up there because he was a person who became famous, unfortunately, because of what he did."

  Leon Bennett / Getty Images
Leon Bennett / Getty Images

"Jeffrey Dahmer was just part of the culture back then," she added. "Everybody talked about him for many years. What he had done was so extreme and so much worse than anything anyone had ever done that anybody knew about."

  Future Publishing / Future Publishing via Getty Images
Future Publishing / Future Publishing via Getty Images

Pepe also explained that the song wasn't intended to be "insensitive to anybody whose families were involved in this and lost loved ones."

  Suzanne Cordeiro / AFP via Getty Images
Suzanne Cordeiro / AFP via Getty Images

“At the time, it was a song that we were writing about Kesha," she said while talking about the origins of "Cannibal." "Kesha was not the most popular girl in high school. She ended up not even getting asked to the prom."

  Frazer Harrison / FilmMagic / Getty Images
Frazer Harrison / FilmMagic / Getty Images

"Later on, when she got famous, all these guys that, you know, never paid any attention to her were coming around and like, ‘Remember me? Remember me?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, now that I’m famous you’re up my anus.’"

  Kevin Winter / Getty Images
Kevin Winter / Getty Images

"It was a tongue-in-cheek, funny song. It was not actually about cannibalism. It was just a title.”

  Tiffany Rose / Getty Images for EON Mist Sanitizer and GBK
Tiffany Rose / Getty Images for EON Mist Sanitizer and GBK

“I’m sorry for anyone who’s lost a family member in this tragedy," Pepe added, while noting that the song was written "more than 10 years" ago. "We certainly never meant to hurt anybody or make anybody feel bad."

  Steve Granitz / WireImage / Getty Images
Steve Granitz / WireImage / Getty Images

Kesha recently performed the song at Hulu's Huluween Dragstravaganza, and she didn't include the lyric referencing Jeffrey Dahmer — so, it seems like her and Pepe are committed to leaving that element of "Cannibal" in the past.

Head here to read more about the criticism surrounding Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.