Kesha accused Dr. Luke of raping Katy Perry in a text message
- Kesha accused Dr. Luke of raping singer Katy Perry, according to court documents filed by his attorney in a defamation suit against Kesha.
- Kesha has also accused Luke of verbally, physically, and sexually abusing her during her time recording with him at Sony.
- Kesha has tried unsuccessfully to free herself from her record contract with his label, Kemosabe, and Sony.
Kesha accused Dr. Luke, her former producer and mentor, of raping singer Katy Perry, according to court documents obtained by Variety.
For years, Kesha has been engaged in a legal battle with Luke (real name: Lukas Gottwald), who she alleges drugged and sexually and verbally assaulted her during her time recording with him at Sony. She has sought to get out of her record contract with Luke's Kemosabe label, though her legal claims have not been successful. Luke countersued her, alleging defamation (the court documents are part of that case).
In 2017, Kesha released her first album in five years, in which she addresses her situation with Luke in songs like "Praying." But she had not publicly shared an accusation that Luke raped Perry, which she made in a text message to singer Lady Gaga in 2016, according to court documents filed by Luke's attorney.
"On February 26, 2016 [Kesha] sent a text message to Stefani Germanotta p/k/a/ Lady Gaga which repeated [Kesha's] false claim that [Luke] had raped her," the attorney wrote. "[Kesha] also falsely asserted that [Luke] had also raped Kathryn Hudson p/k/a/ Katy Perry."
"Following this text message conversation, and with [Kesha's] encouragement, [Gaga] spread negative messages about [Luke] in the press and on social media," his attorney continued.
Reps for Perry were not immediately available to comment, but she has never made any public allegation of sexual assault against Luke.
Reps for Kesha declined to comment to Variety and did respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Reps for Lady Gaga were not immediately available to comment.