Dr. Luke has denied an accusation by Kesha that he raped Katy Perry – a claim which Kesha relayed in a text message to Lady Gaga in 2016, according to court documents.
Kesha and the producer – whose real name is Lukas Gottwald – are currently involved in a defamation case, to which the documents relate.
In the documents, Dr. Luke refutes three claims the singer has made against him – including that he gave her drugs against her will and that he raped her. The third claim, which had previously not been made public, is that Luke raped Katy Perry. The relevant text can be found on page 14 of the document here.
“On February 26, 2016, Defendant [Kesha] sent a text message to Stefani Germanotta p/k/a/ Lady Gaga which repeated Defendant’s false claim that Gottwald raped her,” the documents read. “In this text message, Defendant also falsely asserted that Gottwald had also raped Kathryn Hudson p/k/a/ Katy Perry.
“Following this text message conversation, and with Defendant’s encouragement, Ms. Germanotta spread negative messages about Gottwald in the press and on social media,” it continues. “For example, in February 2016, Ms. Germanotta posted multiple articles discussing Defendant’s defamatory statements on her Twitter page.
“Subsequently, in March 2016, Defendant and Ms. Germanotta coordinated to post graphics on their Twitter and Instagram pages (which were created by Ms. Germanotta) that referred to Defendant’s claims of sexual assault by Gottwald.”
According to the documents, which were initially obtained by Variety, Perry has also been deposed as part of the lawsuit (details of which can be found on page 17), but what she said was not included in the file. She has not publicly accused Luke of sexual misconduct.
Dr. Luke’s legal team have denied Kesha’s accusation, telling E! News in a statement: “Katy Perry herself confirmed that Dr. Luke did not rape her. Kesha’s accusation to the contrary—just like her other outrageous lies about Dr. Luke—is baseless and irresponsible, and it is disrespectful to both Katy Perry and Dr. Luke.
“In his defamation lawsuit against Kesha, Dr. Luke seeks damages for the harm caused by these malicious falsehoods.”
Perry’s representatives have declined to comment on the allegations, while Kesha and Gaga’s respective representatives have yet to comment.
Kesha first made claims that Dr. Luke had abused her in 2014. He has always denied the allegations, with his lawyer calling them “scurrilous and false statements” in a response issued after they were first made public.