Dr. Luke's lawyer: Kesha is 'free' to record new music

The statement comes after Kesha was denied a preliminary injunction on Friday.

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Photo: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP; Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

Kesha was denied a request for a preliminary injunction Friday in her lawsuit against producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald that would allow her to exit her contract with him and Sony. On Monday, Dr. Luke’s lawyer, Christine Lepera, released a statement calling the court’s decision proof that “Kesha’s allegations of purported abuse were unconvincing and that she had no basis to void record contacts and copyrights.”

Kesha first accused Dr. Luke of “sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally [abusing her] to the point where [she] nearly lost her life” in a complaint filed in October 2014. In that complaint, she asked that any contracts she had with Dr. Luke be voided so she could move on with her career without “interference or harassment from [him].”

Dr. Luke responded by filing his own complaint against Kesha, where he claimed Kesha’s accusations of abuse were “a campaign of publishing false and shocking accusations against [Dr. Luke] to extort Plaintiffs into letting Kesha” out of the contract. Lepera reiterated Dr. Luke’s response in the latest statement, where she said, “the allegations against [Dr. Luke] are outright lies that have been advanced to extort a contract renegotiation and money.”

Lepera also said the New York County Supreme Court “found that Kesha is already ‘free’ to record and release music without working with Dr. Luke as a producer if she doesn’t want to,” but Kesha’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, previously called Sony’s offer to let Kesha record without Dr. Luke an “elusive promise,” according to a BuzzFeed reporter.

Read Lepera’s full statement below.

The New York County Supreme Court on Friday found that Kesha is already “free” to record and release music without working with Dr. Luke as a producer if she doesn’t want to. Any claim that she isn’t “free” is a myth. The sound decision Friday by the Court in denying Kesha’s motion for an injunction made it clear Kesha’s allegations of purported abuse were unconvincing and that she had no basis to void record contracts and copyrights. Dr. Luke and his companies invested in Kesha’s success through their contributions, Sony Music has already spent over $11 million promoting Kesha, and Sony Music and its label Kemosabe Records are committed to continuing to promote her work.

More significantly, the Court also noted multiple times that her vague abuse allegations were devoid of factual detail, and that there was no evidence, whether from doctors or anyone else, to support them.

Tellingly, Kesha never reported any purported abuse or rape to any law enforcement authority, or even to Sony Music, and further swore under oath in another matter, while accompanied by her team of lawyers, that it never occurred. The goal of Kesha’s counsel throughout has been to obtain a more lucrative contract through a shameless campaign of outrageous claims they will never stand behind in a court of law.

As Dr. Luke has said repeatedly, the allegations against him are outright lies that have been advanced to extort a contract renegotiation and money. Kesha and her counsel have cavalierly subjected Dr. Luke and his family to trial by Twitter, using a vicious smear campaign to ruin his reputation for financial gain while failing to support their claims. Kesha to date has never verified the allegations in this case — even when given the opportunity in her affidavit. Nor has she ever offered a credible explanation as to why she would have signed a second recording agreement, recorded two albums and an EP and signed a publishing deal with Dr. Luke after allegedly being sexually abused. It will further be shown that the incidents alleged never happened. 

After the decision was made on Friday, the #FreeKesha movement began to trend online and various stars like Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Fiona Apple, and Demi Lovato spoke out for the star. This weekend, Taylor Swift’s rep confirmed that she donated $250,000 to Kesha in monetary support.

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