Kesha’s nearly five-year legal tussle with music producer Dr. Luke has had a most interesting detour according to reportage offered up by People . In legal documents first procured by The Blast and recently revealed by the staff at People , Kesha sent a text message to fellow singer and pop star Lady Gaga alleging that Dr. Luke raped both her and Katy Perry.
Dr. Luke is a pseudonym for the 44-year-old producer who was responsible for promoting the careers of many A-list musicians prior to the shocking allegations that were made public nearly five years ago. His real name, Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, appears in the documents obtained by the above sources.
“On Feb. 26, 2016, [Kesha] sent a text message to Stefani Germanotta p/k/a Lady Gaga which repeated [Kesha’s] false claim that Gottwald had raped her,” Dr. Luke’s legal counsel is quoted as having written in the recently revealed documents. “In this text message, [Kesha] also falsely asserted that Gottwald had also raped Kathryn Hudson p/k/a Katy Perry,” the documents proceed. “Following this text message conversation, and with [Kesha’s] encouragement, Ms. Germanotta spread negative messages about Gottwald in the press and on social media. For example, in February 2016, Ms. Germanotta posted multiple articles discussing defendant defamatory statements on her Twitter page.”
The news spreading like wildfire, Dr. Luke’s lawyer seems to be inferring that — without any actual knowledge as to whether or not the allegations surrounding sexual misconduct between the music producer and Kesha or Katy Perry were true — Lady Gaga distributed this defamatory claim to the media as well as to the general public via her very popular social media presence. Lady Gaga has nearly 80 million Twitter followers and nearly 60 million Facebook fans.
The fracas began in 2014 when Kesha launched a lawsuit against her former friend and mentor, claiming that Dr. Luke had drugged and then raped her in addition to abusing her verbally and emotionally during the course of their paired careers. For his part, Dr. Luke has vigorously denied that there is any truth to the pop star’s serious allegations, and has filed countersuit, charging breach of contract as well as defamation. He posted a rejection of the allegations to Twitter in February of 2016, and later that year, a judge dismissed Kesha’s claims, ending the primary portion of the legal proceedings against the embattled producer.
I didn’t rape Kesha and I have never had sex with her. Kesha and I were friends for many years and she was like my little sister.
— Dr. Luke Doctor Luke (@TheDoctorLuke) February 22, 2016
Dr. Luke was a co-producer behind Kesha’s debut hits “TiK ToK” and “We R Who We R” in addition to having had a hand in delivering Katy Perry’s biggest chart-toppers including “Teenage Dream,” “I Kissed A Girl,” and “Roar.” He also produced other notable singles from recording artists such as Pink (“U + Ur Hand”), Avril Lavigne (“Girlfriend”), Taio Cruz (“Dynamite”), and Kelly Clarkson (“Since U Been Gone”).
When approached for comment by People , a representative speaking on behalf of Kesha’s lawyer declined to comment. As of the posting of this article, representatives for both Katy Perry and Lady Gaga have not entertained the notion of public comment one way or another.
One of Kesha’s most recent singles, “Praying,” became an anthem for the #metoo movement, culminating in a well-received performance at this year’s Grammy Awards held on January 28. Kesha was joined by Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello, Julia Michaels, Bebe Rexha, and Andra Day during the set.