Kesha Says She Could be ‘Penniless’ After Legal Battles With Dr. Luke
Dr. Luke and Kesha both filed counterclaims in their ongoing suit on Monday. In Kesha’s, she claimed “to be liberated from the physical, emotional, and financial bondage of a destructive relationship should be available to a recording artist” and that, even though she is now allowed to make music “outside Dr. Luke’s presence,” it “does not free her from her abuser’s control.”
Kesha and Luke’s legal battle has been ongoing since 2014 when she filed a complaint alleging the producer emotionally and physically abused her. He responded by filing a defamation suit and denying the claims in court and on social media.
Kesha’s counterclaim, obtained by EW, goes on to say that though Kesha has been recording music, “not one song has been approved, no release date has been set, and there has been no agreement on the critical issue of whether the album will be promoted commensurate with an artist of Kesha’s stature and historical success.” It also alleges that it wasn’t until this past December that Luke “released certain funds owed to Kesha” after her legal team “threatened further legal action” and that he still owes her money.
“To be clear, Kesha does not seek the renegotiation of contractual terms,” the suit reads. “She is not demanding more money. Kesha asks for something far more basic: the freedom to make music without being bound indefinitely to the very producer who subjected her to years of abuse and continues that abuse to this day.” The documents then say that Luke is seeking “tens of millions of dollars in punitive damages from Kesha and her mother” that, if successful, would leave the two “penniless.”
Dr. Luke’s lawyer Christine Lepera responded to Kesha’s amended counterclaim in a statement to EW and said, “Dr. Luke seeks to add an additional defamation claim against Kesha based upon the discovery of another false and defamatory statement she made about him that was part of her calculated effort to harm his reputation and business. Kesha’s new proposed counterclaim simply repeats the meritless and untrue allegations that were set forth in her earlier pleadings and which Dr. Luke fully disputes.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, both parties will take part in depositions this coming week.
