Kesha Sues Producer Dr. Luke For Alleged Sexual Assault; He Sues For Defamation
— -- Today Kesha filed a lawsuit against super-producer Dr. Luke, accusing him of being "sexually, physically, verbally and emotionally" abusive to the point that she "nearly lost her life."
Meanwhile, Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, sued Kesha today for allegedly acting with "wanton dishonesty" by spreading falsehoods about him in an effort to get out of her record deal. At the time that he filed his suit, his lawyer said that he had not seen Kesha's.
"We understand that Kesha has filed a lawsuit of her own against Dr. Luke, though we have not yet seen it," his attorney, Christine Lepera, told ABC News in a statement. "Undoubtedly, Kesha’s lawsuit is nothing more than a continuation of her bad and offensive acts. We are confident that Dr. Luke will prevail in all matters, and that our client will be awarded substantial damages for this malicious conduct."
In her lawsuit, the singer, who was born Kesha Sebert, claims that Gottwald continually made sexual advances towards her, and plied her with drugs and alcohol so he could take advantage of her sexually. She also claimed that he "cruelly and incessantly" insulted her physical appearance and constantly harangued her about losing weight, leading to an eating disorder. Her mother, Pebe, made similar accusations earlier this year to People magazine.
"This lawsuit is a wholehearted effort by Kesha to regain control of her music career and her personal freedom after suffering for 10 years as a victim of mental manipulation, emotional abuse and an instance of sexual assault at the hands of Dr. Luke," her attorney, Mark Geragos, said in a statement. "The facts presented in our lawsuit paint a picture of a man who is controlling and willing to commit horrible acts of abuse in an attempt to intimidate an impressionable, talented, young female artist into submission for his personal gain. Kesha is focused on moving her life and her career beyond this terrible time.”
As a result of these claims, Kesha has asked for damages and to be let out of her contract with Gottwald.
However, Gottwald has filed a suit against Kesha and her mother for alleged defamation and breach of contract. In his lawsuit, he denied bullying Kesha and claimed that the singer's mother "has made clear that extortion is the ultimate goal of this defamatory campaign."
"As set forth in the complaint that we have filed on behalf of Dr. Luke, Kesha and her mother are engaged in a campaign of publishing outrageous and untrue statements about Dr. Luke to third parties, including scurrilous and false statements of purported physical and mental abuse of Kesha. These are allegations that Kesha and Pebe have themselves admitted are false," Lepera said in a statement. "The complaint explains that Kesha and her mother Pebe have wielded these defamatory statements in an attempt to extort Gottwald into releasing Kesha from her exclusive recording agreement with Dr. Luke."
Geragos told "Good Morning America" that Gottwald's lawsuit is "amateurish."
"You can’t have defamation in a lawsuit. You have legal immunity. Putting that aside, it doesn’t really matter. The lawsuit itself and the filing of it is just a continuation of what he’s been doing," he said. "He is somebody who’s got way too much money for his own good. He has basically, emotionally tortured this young lady for going on 10 years and she’s finally to the brink, putting her into rehab, almost killing her. And at this point she’s finally gotten healthy enough that she’s going to stand up to him."
