Kesha accuses producer of rape; Dr. Luke countersues

Published 8:23 pm, Tuesday, October 14, 2014

LOS ANGELES - Kesha and her mentor and producer have filed dueling lawsuits over the pop singer's claims that she was subjected to nearly a decade of sexual and emotional abuse.

Kesha's lawsuit accuses hit-making producer Dr. Luke of raping her and subjecting her to other sexual and emotional abuse for nearly a decade. The abuse led the 'Tik Tok' singer to develop a severe eating disorder that required her to enter rehab earlier this year, according to the lawsuit.

Dr. Luke, 41, whose real name is Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, filed a lawsuit against Kesha in New York calling the claims defamatory and saying the singer is making them in an attempt to extort him into giving her a better recording deal.

Kesha's suit does not specify when the alleged rape occurred, but her attorney wrote that the singer didn't report the abuse to anyone out of fear of retaliation by Dr. Luke.

'She lived in a prison of his abuse and was terrified of speaking, messaging, tweeting or doing anything at all that he might disapprove of in the event that he would later use it to torture her and her family, as he had done so many times before,' the lawsuit states.

Her lawsuit seeks to invalidate recording agreements she signed with Dr. Luke and his recording company when she turned 18. Kesha, whose real name is Kesha Rose Sebert, is a Nashville native who was lured to Los Angeles by Dr. Luke with promises of a music career, her suit states.

'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,' Dr. Luke's attorney, Christine Lepera, wrote in a statement.

Kesha's attorney, Mark Geragos, said the producer's lawsuit was legal gamesmanship and not unexpected.

'This is exactly the way he plays,' Geragos said. 'He abuses people.'

Geragos said Kesha is finally healthy enough to confront her mentor.

'She's finally at a point where she can deal with it and wants to deal with it, wants him out of her life and wants him held accountable,' Geragos said.

Dr. Luke has been one of the music industry's most consistent pop hit-makers in the past decade. He's produced or co-produced several hits for Katy Perry, including 'Roar' and 'Teenage Dream,' and worked with Rihanna, Britney Spears, Pitbull, Flo Rida and Miley Cyrus on her hit, 'Wrecking Ball.'

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