The legal battle between Kesha and producer/mentor and Lukasz Gottwald, known professionally as Dr. Luke, has another twist in the continued saga. Dr. Luke's lawyers are now going on the offensive, moving to try and dismiss some of the charges being filed against their client. The "Tik Tok" singer has accused Dr. Luke of sexual assault and has filed a counterclaim suing Kesha for defamation and breach of contract.
The hit maker Dr. Luke goes further in his most recent filing, asserting that Kesha has concocted the date rape allegation as part of an extortion scheme run by her mother and her to get Kesha out of her exclusive recording contract. The lawyers, in addition, to saying the claims are false, argue that the statute of limitations has run out on her allegations, as reported by Billboard.
Luke's lawyers were able to get a 2011 damning deposition unsealed, in which Kesha says on record that "Dr. Luke never made sexual advances at me." Kesha's attorney, Mark Geragos, says Gottwald threatened to harm Kesha if she discussed the rape.
According to transcripts obtained by the (New York) Daily News, Dr. Luke's lawyers made the following statement in a court filing: "[Kesha], who never reported the allegations to any authorities, chose a convenient, long-ago time period for the false allegations because she knew the evidence would show that she and Gottwald have not seen each other in years."
No matter what the facts say in the end, this is damaging to both artists. Dr. Luke continues to put out hits, like Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball" and "Roar," and remains one of the most highly sought-after producers in pop music, but that could change with female artists.
Kesha has not released an album since her 2012 effort Warrior and any upcoming album, which Kesha is said to have worked on, does not seem likely to appear for some time while the lawyers battle this out.
