The legal representation for famed pop producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald issued a statement on Feb. 22 attempting to counter the claims being made about him following the ruling of a New York Supreme Court justice who denied Kesha’s request for an injunction to be freed from her contract with Gottwald and Sony Music.
“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,” said Luke’s lawyer Christine Lepara.
The statement echoes the reasoning that Judge Shirley Kornreich gave for denying Kesha’s injunction.
“There has been no showing of irreparable harm. She’s being given opportunity to record [without Dr. Luke],” Kornreich said.
Luke’s lawyer also denied the basis of Kesha’s filing, her claims that she was drugged and raped by the producer.
“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.”
Lepara further questioned why Kesha never reported the producer to the authorities and why the singer signed a contract to work with Luke after the alleged incident. You can read the statement in full 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.”
While the statement denies Kesha’s allegations of sexual assault and says she isn’t required to work directly with Dr. Luke, the fact remains that the singer is still under Sony Music and Dr. Luke’s personal imprint, Kemosabe Records, and must continue to do business with the producer. Though it doesn’t appear she has the support of the New York Supreme Court in this case, many fellow pop stars are lining up to back the “Tik Tok” singer. Taylor Swift recently took her support beyond social media by donating $250,000 to the singer.
(Via Rolling Stone)