Summary: Dr. Luke wants Lady Gaga’s texts to use in his defamation lawsuit against singer, Kesha.
The legal saga between Kesha and her estranged producer Dr. Luke seems never-ending, and now Lady Gaga has been pulled into the fray.
Dr. Luke’s representative, Linda Carbone, told USA Today that the producer subpoenaed Lady Gaga in his defamation case against Kesha, 30. Kesha claimed years ago that she had been physically and emotionally abused by Dr. Luke for years, and she filed a lawsuit to break the contract she had made with him when she was a teenager. A judge ruled that she could not break her agreement, and Dr. Luke filed a defamation case in response to her damning allegations that went public.
Dr. Luke, 43, denied Kesha’s allegations, which included that he had raped her, and now Dr. Luke wants Lady Gaga to submit texts she had sent between her and Kesha as evidence of collusion to “smear” Dr. Luke.
“Various third parties are being deposed by both sides, including celebrities. Dr. Luke’s counsel served a subpoena on Lady Gaga because she has relevant information regarding, among other things, false statements about Dr. Luke made to her by Kesha,” Dr. Luke’s representative said. “This motion has become necessary because Dr. Luke’s counsel has not been able to obtain, despite repeated request, a deposition date from Lady Gaga.”
Kesha and Dr. Luke’s legal battle has been highly publicized and has resulted in Dr. Luke’s label, Sony Music, cutting ties with him. Dr. Luke said that Lady Gaga had spread “negative messages” about him and had helped ruin his reputation.
Lady Gaga said that Dr. Luke is “trying to manipulate the truth.”
“As Lady Gaga‘s legal team will present to the court, she has provided all of the relevant information in her possession and is at most an ancillary witness in this process,” Gaga’s representative said in a statement to Variety. “Dr. Luke’s team is attempting to manipulate the truth and draw press attention to their case by exaggerating Lady Gaga‘s role and falsely accusing her of dodging reasonable requests.”
Throughout the legal battle, which began in 2015, feminist pop star Lady Gaga has openly supported Kesha. For instance, when Kesha lost the lawsuit to break her contract with Dr. Luke, Lady Gaga tweeted her love for the “Tik Tok” singer.
“There are people all over the world who love you @KeshaRose,” Gaga tweeted. “And I can say truly I am in awe of your bravery.”
Kesha had not released new music since 2012, and after she had lost her lawsuit, she released songs as part of her contract’s agreement. Her new singles “Praying” and “Woman” have been met with critical acclaim and last week, Kesha released her third single and published an accompanying essay about its message in The Huffington Post.
Many viewed Kesha’s essay as a veiled statement about Dr. Luke.
“As much as our past creates who we are, we can’t let it define us or hold us back,” Kesha wrote. “And especially if you’ve been through something hard, and we all have, you can’t hold on to resentment because it’s like a poison. You have to learn to let go of those bad feelings and move forward.”