Kesha v. Dr. Luke

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Kesha v. Dr. Luke refers to the lawsuit between Kesha and her former producer, Dr. Luke, that begun in October 2014 and was settled in June 2023. The lawsuit initially begun with Kesha suing the producer for sexual assault and battery, with the latter countersuing for defamation and breach of contract.

Background

In September 2013, Rebecca Pimmel, a fan of Kesha, set up a petition to "free" Kesha from Dr. Luke's management and accused Luke of "stunting" Kesha's creative growth as an artist. The petitioners concur with the position stated in Kesha's TV series documentary, Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life, in which Luke serves as an executive producer, that she had little creative control of her second album, Warrior.

In January 2014, shortly after Kesha was admitted to a rehab center for bulimia nervosa, Kesha's mother, Pebe Sebert, made allegations that pressure for Kesha to lose weight came from Dr. Luke. Sebert claimed that Dr. Luke said that Kesha looked "like a refrigerator", which instigated her eating disorder. Luke denies these claims.

Lawsuit

In October 2014, Kesha sued Dr. Luke, claiming sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, civil harassment, violation of California's unfair business laws, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and negligent retention and supervision. Gottwald responded by filing a countersuit alleging that Kesha's lawsuit was an attempt by Kesha, her mother and her new management firm to extort him into releasing her from her contract.

In November, Dr. Luke asked the judge to dismiss Kesha's accusation of sexually abusing her. In early December, Dr. Luke filed a defamation lawsuit against Kesha's lawyer, Mark Geragos, accusing him of implications that Luke had raped Lady Gaga. Gaga's team denied any such incident. Later in December, Luke's lawyers amended the official complaint in the defamation lawsuit to introduce additional items, including a handwritten birthday card from Kesha back in 2009. Luke's attorney claimed the card is from several years after Kesha claims he started abusing her. Other additions included several emails between Dr. Luke and Kesha's mother, where the latter wrote to him, "You are part of our family." Dr. Luke further accused Jack Rovner, president of Vector Management, of "longstanding antipathy" towards him, alleging Rovner wants more money and control of Kesha's career.

On February 18, 2015, during New York Fashion Week, Kesha wore a Discount Universe dress with the words "You Will Never Own Me" on the front of the garment, which at least one media source speculated to be an obvious jab at Dr. Luke amid Kesha's recovery. On June 9, 2015, it was reported that Kesha amended her complaint against Dr. Luke and added a suit against Sony Music Entertainment, with Kesha's lawyer claiming "Dr. Luke's proclivity for abusive conduct was open and obvious to [Sony Music Entertainment] executives, who either knew of the conduct and turned a blind eye, failed to investigate Dr. Luke's conduct, failed to take any corrective action, or actively concealed Dr. Luke's abuse." Kesha sought an injunction with Sony against working and releasing music with Dr Luke and for greater artistic freedom. Kesha's lawyer, Mark Geragos, responded about the injunction saying "She cannot work with music producers, publishers, or record labels to release new music. With no new music to perform, Kesha cannot tour. Off the radio and stage and out of the spotlight, Kesha cannot sell merchandise, receive sponsorships, or get media attention. Her brand value has fallen, and unless the Court issues this injunction, Kesha will suffer irreparable harm, plummeting her career past the point of no return."

A preliminary injunction was denied on February 19, 2016.

After the Court of Appeals in New York ruled that Dr. Luke is a limited public figure, he and Kesha released a joint statement saying the case has reached a settlement, a month before the trial was supposed to take place.

Timeline

The dates in this timeline are guesstimated and may not be 100% accurate.

2014

• October 14 - Kesha files an explosive lawsuit against Dr. Luke in California claiming sexual assault and battery, including one aforementioned incident (the Nicky Hilton party) where he allegedly forced her to take date-rape drugs and sexually abused her afterward, and another where he “violently thrashed his arms at her,” which led her to run barefoot down the Pacific Coast Highway to escape. The lawsuit also accused Luke of long-term emotional and psychological abuse involving fat-shaming. Kesha claims that Luke’s treatment has caused her “severe depression, post-traumatic stress, social isolation, and panic attacks.” She requests in her lawsuit to be released from her record deal with Dr. Luke, claiming his alleged actions are a breach of contract.
  • That same day, Luke files his own countersuit in New York against Kesha, her mother, Pebe, and manager Jack Rovner for defamation. He denies all allegations in Kesha’s lawsuit and claims it is a ploy to extort him, noting that she testified in 2011 that none of these allegations ever happened.
• October 29 - Luke files a separate defamation lawsuit against Kesha’s mother, Pebe, in Tennessee, where she lives, in case she tries to argues he has no jurisdiction over her in New York.
• December 2 - During a radio interview, Lady Gaga says an unnamed music producer sexually assaulted her when she was 19. Kesha’s former lawyer Mark Geragos suggests on Twitter that Gaga was talking about Dr. Luke, which both Gaga and Luke deny. Still, Geragos claims he’ll depose Gaga for Kesha’s lawsuit about her claims. Luke responds by filing a defamation lawsuit against Geragos, which is still ongoing.
• December 3 - Kesha’s mom countersues Dr. Luke for causing her PTSD and says she’s had to be medicated due to the stress of his alleged abuse against her daughter and the subsequent lawsuit.

2015

• June 10 - Kesha adds Sony to her original lawsuit against Dr. Luke, arguing that her parent label had knowledge of and enabled Luke’s alleged abuse for years and “turned a blind eye to it.” She claims Sony put Kesha in “physical danger” by allowing her to work with Luke and that at least one other unnamed Sony artist was a victim of Luke’s alleged abuse.
• June 17 - A judge halts Kesha’s California lawsuit at the request of Luke over a dispute involving a clause in her contract with Luke’s Kemosabe Records, which states that all legal issues must be resolved in New York. Kesha argues that she signed the deal in California and that the alleged abuse outlined in her suit occurred in California.
• September - Kesha files an emergency preliminary injunction request in New York court to be released from her record contract with Luke, claiming her career will suffer “irreparable harm” if she must wait until her sexual-assault lawsuit is ruled on in order to be able to record new music without his involvement. She also requests that the court expedite its decision on her original lawsuit. Sony speaks out for the first time, saying the label feels “caught in the crossfire” and wants Kesha’s lawsuit against Sony and Kemosabe dismissed. They call her suit a “transparent and misguided attempt to renegotiate her contracts.”

2016

• February 16 - Kesha's preliminary injunction is denied. Soon after, #FreeKesha trends with many other celebrities supporting Kesha such as Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Melanie Martinez, Halsey, Sam Smith, and more.
• February 22 - Pebe tweeted that Taylor Swift donated $250,000 to help with legal fees.
• February 23 - Dr. Luke takes to Twitter responding to the "#FreeKesha" movement saying, "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." He further added that the lawsuit was "motivated by money."
• April 6 - New York Judge Shirley Kornreich dismissed all of Kesha's counter-claims against Dr. Luke due to not having enough evidence.
• April 29 - "True Colors" is released, in collaboration with Zedd, being Kesha's first release since the lawsuit.
  • After the song's release, Zedd took to Twitter to clarify that Dr. Luke and the label granted them permission to release the song. Dr. Luke responded thanking Zedd for clarifying.
• July 23 - Kesha embarked on her third headlining tour, Kesha and the Creepies: Fuck the World Tour, where she performed in small intimate places around North America. The tour would last for about a year, expanding to Asia, where she played three shows in China.
• August - Kesha dropped her sexual abuse case in Los Angeles (while continuing her New York suit) clarifying that "this lawsuit [has been] so heavy on my once free spirit, and I can only pray to one day feel that happiness again."

2017

• June 25 - Dr. Luke drops the defamation lawsuit against Kesha's mother, Pebe.
• July 6 - Kesha finally released the single "Praying" on Dr. Luke's record label Kemosabe Records.
• July 30 - Dr. Luke subpoenas Lady Gaga over the alleged texts Kesha sent her accusing him of assaulting another artist. Gaga responded that Dr. Luke's team is attempting to manipulate the truth and exaggerate her role in the case.
• August 11 - Kesha released her third studio album, Rainbow, also released on Kemosabe.
• August 25 - it was revealed Judge Shirley Kornreich, who presided over the trial, is married to lawyer Ed Kornreich, who is a partner in Proskauer Rose, the law firm that represents Sony/RCA.

2018

• April 9–11 - Singers P!nk, Avril Lavigne and Taio Cruz all signed affidavits in support of Kesha, signifying they have not worked with Dr. Luke since their respective dates and their reasonings having nothing to do with the allegations.
• May 29 - A New York appeals court sides with a previous judge who ruled Kesha is not permitted to make any further appeals to be released from her contract.
• August 27 - In Katy Perry's unsealed deposition, she denies being raped by Dr. Luke, as well as having any sexual relationship with him.
• November 30 - Private text messages from 2016 between Kesha and Lady Gaga are leaked where the two singers are discussing information they were told that Katy Perry was raped by Dr. Luke. Kesha expresses her frustration with Perry, where Gaga tells her that Perry is not as strong as her.
  • In an unsealed document, it was also revealed Perry did not give permission for Dr. Luke to release the text messages or her own deposition.
  • Later that day, Gaga responded to those texts saying these texts were old and she is her friend. Perry replied to Gaga, "Love you two friend! Onward and upward!"

2019

• January 30 - Lady Gaga's deposition from September 2017 is released and shows her defending Kesha to Dr. Luke's lawyer. According to her deposition, Gaga was in tears due to PTSD from her own experience. She recounted how she first met Kesha in Dr. Luke's home studio and that Kesha was in the back room in only her underwear. Gaga said that when she saw the state Kesha was in, she was on her side.
• September 26 - Kesha was denied a motion for re-argument and a motion to appeal the decision to Albany's appellate court was denied.
• November 19 - Dr. Luke sues Kesha's former lawyer, Mark Geragos, for perjury.
• December 17 - Dr. Luke is denied a request to hold Geragos in contempt. The judge issued a ruling saying that while "Geragos' conduct leaves much to be desired," Dr. Luke's team has not established there was a "clear violation of a court order or a lie made under oath."

2020

• January 31 - Kesha releases her fourth album, High Road, which is her third one under Kemosabe.
• February 7 - Judge sides with Dr. Luke that Kesha defamed him telling Lady Gaga he raped Katy Perry. She is ordered to pay $1.7 million.
• February 19 - Reportedly, Taylor Swift helped Kesha pay for the damages to Dr. Luke.
• March 12 - Kesha files an appeal to overturn defamation ruling.
• May 21 - Kesha pays the $374,000 in interest rates that she was ordered to pay in summary judgement to Dr. Luke, despite her pending appeal of order.
• Nov 25 - The judges mainly sided with Kesha at the appeal hearing, agreeing that Dr. Luke is a public figure and did not slander him.

2021

• February 9 - Documents on the defamation lawsuit against Kesha's former lawyer, Mark Geragos, are unsealed. It is revealed both Gaga and Kesha were not happy about Geragos's claim that Dr. Luke raped Gaga. Kesha reached out to the singer and made it clear she had nothing to do with that situation and that she ripped Geragos "a new asshole", as well as apologizing about the situation.
• February 23 - Another alleged victim of Dr. Luke approached Mark Geragos' counsel not long after Kesha filed her lawsuit.
• April 6 - Kesha hopes to use a New Free Speech Law for counterattack against Dr. Luke.
• April 23 - Kesha is denied an appeal of the ruling that she defamed Dr. Luke, with judges saying he is not a public figure.
• June 30 - Kesha wins the oral argument of using the anti-SLAPP motion, which means she can countersue Dr. Luke and recover damages if she wins the trial.
• July 28 - Kesha's motion to unseal the Sonenberg and McAvenna transcripts has been granted. This motion was filed in November 2020, and it shows in 2005, Kesha told the court she was raped.
• July 29 - Dr. Luke files an appeal to the legal fee ruling.
• August 25 - In unsealed transcripts from 2005, Kesha reveals to managers she was raped by Dr. Luke, years before the lawsuit. She stated to her manager at the time that she did not want to work with the producer.

2022

• February - A trial date has been set for 2023.
• February - The FreeKesha movement made a resurgence after the release of Kim Petras' EP, which was entirely produced by Dr. Luke.
• March 3 - An appeals court has ruled that Kesha will not be able to recover Dr. Luke's legal fees if she wins the defamation lawsuit her former music producer brought against her. According to Kesha's lawyers, from the O'Melveny firm, in their statement they said: "Today's opinion is manifestly erroneous and contrary to the conclusion reached by approximately 20 other courts," and that they "will immediately seek review by the Court of Appeals.”
• August 30 - Kesha argues that Dr. Luke is at fault for delaying the defamation trial that is supposed to occur in February.
• November 7 - A trial date for the defamation suit is set for July 26, 2023. According to the judge, a trial for February would be “impossible” due to the pending appeals.

2023

• April 18 - Oral Argument of both of Kesha's appeals at the Court of Appeals begins.
• April 28 - Kesha begins her final album cycle with Kemosabe Records, by releasing two lead singles, "Eat the Acid" and "Fine Line". Her fifth studio album, Gag Order is set for release on May 19, 2023.
• May 19 - Kesha's final contracted album under Kemosabe, Gag Order, is released.
• June 13 - The Court of Appeals in New York, which is the highest Court of NY, rules that Dr. Luke is indeed a limited public figure. Dr. Luke once again must prove that Kesha acted in malice and she can assert her anti-slapp counterclaim and recover fees for the litigation beginning in 2020. However, she cannot recover fees from 2014–2020 due to the anti-slapp law was amended in 2020.
• June 22 - It was announced through a joint statement that Kesha and Dr. Luke have officially settled their lawsuit, about month before the case was to go to trial.
• December 18 – Months after the settlement, it was reported that Kesha had officially parted ways from Kemosabe, RCA Records, and her management company, Vector Management.

2024

While the lawsuit was over, there were still a few legal proceedings before Kesha was able to release music without the labels.

• March - Kesha is officially legally allowed to release music again without the RCA and Kemosabe labels.
• July 4 - Kesha releases "JOYRIDE" as an independent artist, via her own record label, Kesha Records.