New York, June 14 (IANS) Singer Kesha, in a text message to fellow singer Lady Gaga, has accused former collaborator Dr. Luke of raping singer Katy Perry, according to court documents filed here. Dr. Luke’s representative has denied the allegation.
The documents, obtained by variety.com, are related to the ongoing defamation case between Kesha and Luke.
The documents reportedly contain Luke’s refutation of three of Kesha’s claims against him — previously known allegations that he gave the singer drugs against her will and that he raped her, as well as the previously undisclosed claim that he raped Perry. The news was first reported by publication The Blast.
The claim was revealed in a text message sent from Kesha to Lady Gaga, according to the documents, which read in part: “On February 26, 2016 (Kesha) sent a text message to Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga) which repeated (Kesha’s) false claim that (Luke) had raped her.
“(Kesha) also falsely asserted that (Luke) had also raped Kathryn Hudson (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.”
Previously, the existence of the text message had been publicly discussed, although its contents had not.
The documents also reportedly said Perry has been deposed as part of the lawsuit, although there is no indication of what she said. Perry has never publicly accused Luke of sexual misconduct, although she has not worked with him professionally for several years.
In a statement, Luke’s legal team denied the accusations detailed in the court documents.
“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.”
Luke’s defamation lawsuit against Kesha the last remaining suit in a legal battle that began in 2014 when the pop star went public with claims that the producer had abused her. That year, Luke filed a complaint against Kesha for failing to work on a third album as required under her contract.
Kesha filed a countersuit, seeking to be released from the contract on the basis of allegations that Luke had raped her and verbally abused her over the course of several years. The courts have ruled against Kesha in every attempt to extricate herself from her contracts with him and his label, and last year she released an album, “Rainbow,” on the label containing several songs that obliquely reference her battles with the producer.