The Battle Between Dr. Luke and Kesha Continues with a New $50 Million Lawsuit Against Her
Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, the man that singer Kesha accused of drugging, raping and abusing her, has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the singer-songwriter. The Dr. Luke lawsuit claims that Kesha’s sexual assault allegations against him lost him millions in work opportunities including the possibility of working with Katy Perry and other artists.
Specifically, Gottwald says that Kesha’s allegations lost him $29.9 million in producing and songwriting royalties, $10.2 million from working with Katy Perry and $8.7 million in music co-writing profits.
In response, Kesha has filed a countersuit alleging that Gottwald’s calculations are doubtful, presuming that he would’ve been working with big name musicians in the future when such a thing is unknowable.
A representative for Gottwald said, “Kesha’s false accusations have caused tremendous damage to Dr. Luke, his family and his businesses. Kesha’s recent court filing misstates and misrepresents an expert accountant’s calculations of certain revenue that Mr. Gottwald has lost as a result of Kesha’s false accusations. The ultimate amount of Dr. Luke’s damages is for a jury to decide.”
This is merely the latest volley in a long, ongoing and ugly legal battle between Kesha and Gottwald that started when the then-18-year-old musician signed a six-album contract with the music producer in 2005.
By October 2014, Kesha had filed a lawsuit against Gottwald claiming the producer had intimidated and tormented her, threatened to ruin her career and denied her any opportunity to publish or record new music. The lawsuit also claimed Kesha had suffered “severe depression, post-traumatic stress, social isolation and panic attacks” as a result of working with Gottwald.
That same month, Gottwald denied Kesha’s accusations and countersued her for defamation, stating that her lawsuit was merely an attempt to get out of her contract. In February 2015, Kesha filed an injunction request to stop working with Gottwald, a request which was denied one year later.
Then, in April 2016, New York Judge Shirley Kornreich (who is married to Ed Kornreich, a partner in Sony’s legal firm Proskauer Rose), dismissed all of Kesha’s claims against Dr. Luke.calling Gottwald’s allegedly abusive behavior “foreseeable.” In April 2017, Dr. Luke was booted as CEO of Sony’s Kemosabe Records.
It’s unclear what will happen next. We know Gottwald’s lawyers subpoenaed Lady Gaga while collecting evidence for the Dr. Luke lawsuit. Kesha unveiled the video for her new song “I Need a Woman to Love Me” in April 2018.
