Dr. Luke’s Lawyer Calls Kesha’s Allegations ‘Outright Lies,’ Claims She Is ‘Free’
Update: Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald has denied the allegations on his Twitter feed, offering TMZ's leaked copy of a 2011 deposition as evidence of his innocence and writing "Kesha's lawyer Mark Geragos made another false rape claim against me that was denied by publiscly Lady Gaga." Lady Gaga voiced her own support for the singer on Friday the 19th.
It's been mere days since a New York state judge denied Kesha's request for an injunction in her ongoing legal battle with pop hitmaker Dr. Luke, but it feels like a year's worth of events have happened since last Friday. And today (February 22), the attorney for Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald has issued a statement sharply rebuking Kesha's claims, as well as the public's call to #FreeKesha. According to Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP partner Christine Lepera, "the allegations against [Gottwald] are outright lies that have been advanced to extort a contract renegotiation and money," and claims "Kesha and her counsel have cavalierly subjected Dr. Luke and his family to trial by Twitter."
Lepera's statement also maintains that "any claim that [Kesha] isn't 'free' is a myth," which ultimately points to a major difference of opinion on both sides regarding what "free" means here. It's true that Kesha is now allowed to record without Dr. Luke, who she's accused of both verbal and physical abuse. But the judge at the injunction hearing ruled that upholding her Sony contract was the "commercially reasonable" thing to do, so Kesha isn't quite "free" in the way she wants to be — that is, released from any association with Gottwald whatsoever and allowed to sign with a new label.
The singer-songwriter has received received an avalanche of support from celebrities including Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande, as well as a donation from Taylor Swift. Moreover, the case, in all of its complexity — wherein a female musician remains ultimately bound to a contract that keeps her in a business relationship with her accused abuser, as well as the company that she believes "forced an abusive relationship" between the two — has sparked multiple dialogues about creative control and power dynamics in the pop world, the issue of victim-blaming and skepticism toward those who report (or choose not to report) sexual assault, and some dark aspects of the music industry. These are all conversations well worth having, regardless of either parties' respective guilt or innocence in this particular case.
Read the full statement from Dr. Luke's legal counsel below.
The New York County Supreme Court on Friday found that Kesha is already “free” to record and release music without working with Dr. Luke as a producer if she doesn’t want to. Any claim that she isn’t “free” is a myth. The sound decision Friday by the Court in denying Kesha's motion for an injunction made it clear Kesha's allegations of purported abuse were unconvincing and that she had no basis to void record contracts and copyrights. Dr. Luke and his companies invested in Kesha’s success through their contributions, Sony Music has already spent over $11 million promoting Kesha, and Sony Music and its label Kemosabe Records are committed to continuing to promote her work.
More significantly, the Court also noted multiple times that her vague abuse allegations were devoid of factual detail, and that there was no evidence, whether from doctors or anyone else, to support them.
Tellingly, Kesha never reported any purported abuse or rape to any law enforcement authority, or even to Sony Music, and further swore under oath in another matter, while accompanied by her team of lawyers, that it never occurred. The goal of Kesha’s counsel throughout has been to obtain a more lucrative contract through a shameless campaign of outrageous claims they will never stand behind in a court of law.
As Dr. Luke has said repeatedly, the allegations against him are outright lies that have been advanced to extort a contract renegotiation and money. Kesha and her counsel have cavalierly subjected Dr. Luke and his family to trial by Twitter, using a vicious smear campaign to ruin his reputation for financial gain while failing to support their claims. Kesha to date has never verified the allegations in this case -even when given the opportunity in her affidavit. Nor has she ever offered a credible explanation as to why she would have signed a second recording agreement, recorded two albums and an EP and signed a publishing deal with Dr. Luke after allegedly being sexually abused. It will further be shown that the incidents alleged never happened.
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