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Artist News Legal Top Stories
Kesha claims about Dr Luke contradicted in earlier deposition
By Chris Cooke | Published on Thursday 23 October 2014
There were developments earlier this week in the high profile and emotive legal battle between Kesha and her long-time collaborator Dr Luke.
As previously reported, in legal papers filed earlier this month Kesha accused Luke, real name Lukasz Gottwald, whose label and music publishing outfit she signed to aged eighteen, of forcing her to “take drugs and alcohol in order to take advantage of her sexually while she was intoxicated”. Gottwald quickly fired back accusing Kesha and her mother of making false accusations as part of a dispute over contracts between the singer and producer.
A key development this week is the publication of a deposition – an out of court testimony given under oath – that was given by Kesha in relation to earlier litigation in which the singer and her producer were on the same side. The 2010 dispute was between the duo and DAS Communications, which had managed the singer for a time.
In the deposition, made public at the request of Gottwald’s lawyers, Kesha seemingly defended the producer over various allegations made about his conduct, denying he had ever assaulted her or forced her to take drugs. Those statements seem to directly contradict some of the allegations made in her new lawsuit.
But Kesha’s legal rep Mark Geragos has countered the release of the deposition transcriptions, implying that his client had been intimidated by the producer even during the 2010 litigation. He told reporters yesterday: “After the deposition, after the threats, she went into rehab and therapy and now she’s finally strong enough that she’s not going to be intimidated or threatened anymore”.
The case continues.
