Kesha is suing longtime producer Dr. Luke for emotional abuse and an instance of sexual assault, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Kesha is looking to be freed of her contract with the producer.
“This lawsuit is a wholehearted effort by Kesha to regain control of her music career and her personal freedom after suffering for ten years as a victim of mental manipulation, emotional abuse and sexual assault at the hands of Dr. Luke,” Kesha’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, tells Billboard via a statement. “The facts presented in our lawsuit paint a picture of a man who is controlling and willing to commit horrible acts of abuse in an attempt to intimidate an impressionable, talented, young female artist into submission for his personal gain. Kesha is focused on moving her life and her career beyond this terrible time.”
The most harrowing allegation is probably the following: “After forcing Ms. Sebert to drink with him, Dr. Luke instructed Ms. Sebert to take what he described as ‘sober pills’ in order for her to sober up. Ms. Sebert took the pills and woke up the following afternoon, naked in Dr. Luke’s bed, sore and sick, with no memory of how she got there. Ms. Sebert later learned that the ‘sober pills’ Dr. Luke had given her were…more commonly known as the date rape drug, allowing him to bring Ms. Sebert back to his hotel room alone and rape her while she was unconscious.”
The lawsuit cites an instance of alleged physical abuse as well, saying Dr. Luke was “violently thrashing his arms at her” at one point.
Dr. Luke immediately filed a countersuit. In a statement to Billboard, his lawyers allege that Kesha is “engaged in a campaign of publishing outrageous and untrue statements about Dr. Luke… in an attempt to extort [him] into releasing Kesha from her exclusive recording agreement with Dr. Luke.”
Earlier this year, Kesha checked herself into rehab for an eating disorder. Kesha’s mother, Pebe Sebert, publicly blamed Dr. Luke for her daughter’s low self-esteem.
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