Source: Christopher Polk / Getty
Pop singer Kesha lost a lawsuit requesting to be released from her contract with record producer Dr. Luke. Kesha has accused Dr. Luke of raping, drugging, and sexually abusing her. Kesha testified in a deposition that Dr. Luke gave her drugs that knocked her out and raped her once she was knocked out.
The dispute is a strikingly personal fight in an industry with a long history of strife between artists and those who work with them.
“I cannot work with this monster,” Kesha said in a sworn statement in August that accused Dr. Luke of raping her a decade ago after giving her a pill that knocked her out, browbeating her to lose weight to the point where she didn’t eat solid food for eight days, and holding her career hostage because she spoke up.
His abuse led her to develop an eating disorder and suicidal thoughts that prompted two months in a rehabilitation clinic in 2014, her lawyers say.
But Dr. Luke and his attorneys say the singer and her camp are trying to pressure him into letting her out of her contract.
“All of their horrific allegations of abuse, threats and other purported misconduct by me against Kesha are completely untrue and deeply hurtful,” he said in a sworn statement in December. He has not been charged with any crime, and his lawyer, Christine Lepera, says “he wants his name restored.”
Dr. Luke has worked with many notable celebrities including Katy Perry, Rihanna, Pitbull and Miley Cyrus. His lawyers claimed that Kesha’s refusal to work with him is a violation of their contract that was signed when was 18. She has released two albums under Dr. Luke’s imprint, but still owes him three more projects according to their deal.
This is an ugly story that will probably drag out for a long time…
