Dr. Luke drops defamation lawsuit against Kesha’s mother

Record producer and label exec Dr. Luke dropped his defamation lawsuit against singer Kesha’s mother, Pebe Sebert, after she acknowledged she had no first-hand knowledge of her daughter’s alleged rape.

However the case in New York between him and the Tik Tok singer are on-going and next goes to court on July 31.

A joint statement issued by Sebert and Dr. Luke (real name Lukasz Gottwald) emphasised that she had not been in Los Angeles where the alleged incident was to have taken place.

It read: “Dr Luke vigorously disputes and denies that he ever raped Kesha Sebert, and he is asserting claims of defamation in a New York court against Kesha Sebert for making statements to the contrary, which statements Dr. Luke adamantly maintains are false.

“Pebe admits she has no firsthand personal knowledge of the events occurring on the night of the alleged rape. Pebe was not present that night.

“At that time, Pebe was in Nashville, and Kesha was in Los Angeles.

“The dispute between Kesha and Dr. Luke about the events of that night is the subject of the New York case, and will be decided in that case.

“Accordingly, all parties believe it is appropriate to dismiss this Tennessee case and focus their attention on the New York case.”

The producer sued Pebe Sebert in Tennessee, where she lives, for defamation and “tortious interference”, alleging that she worked with her daughter to tarnish his name and reputation over a dispute over part of a contract.

Sebert counter-sued the producer with claims of “intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, misrepresentations and fraudulent inducement” which she claimed was a direct result of the alleged rape of her daughter.

In February 2016, a judge dismissed Dr. Luke’s New York lawsuit against Sebert.

In April 2016, she withdrew her counterclaims.

Five months later, Dr. Luke filed a second defamation lawsuit against her, after fresh comments she made on social media and in an interview with Billboard.

Luke had signed Kesha to his Kemosabe Records imprint, which he set up with Sony Music after he generated hits for Sony acts including Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne and Miley Cyrus.

The legal issue between Dr. Luke and Kesha began in October 2014 when she claimed he gave her a date-rape drug and took advantage of her in a hotel room.

She also alleged he had “suffocating control” over her life and career for a decade, consistently insulted her looks and kept some profits from her music.

Dr. Luke’s counterclaim was that the singer had defamed him and that his court action was just “extortion” to get out of her contract.

The producer had told Kesha’s manager that “A-list songwriters and producers are reluctant to give Kesha their songs because of her weight” and refusal to stick to diets.

The high-profile case got more publicity when a “free Kesha” campaign included social media activation, a petition that received 3000 signatures, and rallies outside her label Sony Music’s New York headquarters.

It claimed the singer was a “puppet” and demanded that Sony release her from her contract.

A New York judge rejected many of Kesha’s appeals and requests, including not having to work with Dr. Luke again, and her claims that that Luke’s actions were “hate crimes”.

In the meantime, Sony has cut ties with Dr. Luke as an executive in April, removing him as CEO of Kemosabe and dropping his page on the Sony Music website.

But the hitmaker apparently still remains as a producer for some of its acts.

Kesha’s reality TV series My Crazy Beautiful Life was not picked up for a third season.

This year she recorded two tracks with Eagles of Death Metal for inclusion on a new album that she says will break away from the sound and image Dr. Luke shaped for her.