Dr. Luke Claims Kesha Falsely Told Lady Gaga That He Raped Katy Perry

In summer 2017, the legal team for producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald served a subpoena to Lady Gaga as part of Gottwald’s defamation case against Kesha. (Gottwald and Kesha have been locked in a legal battle since 2014 over claims Kesha has made that Gottwald sexually abused her.) Gottwald and his team wanted to speak with Gaga about alleged text messages that Kesha sent to her, in which Kesha allegedly claimed that Gottwald raped a different female artist.

Today, The Blast and People report that the artist in question was Katy Perry. A document, signed by Gottwald’s legal team but electronically filed by Kesha’s attorney to the New York State Supreme Court, on May 31 (and viewed by Pitchfork) reads:

For the purpose of furthering her malicious plan to destroy [Dr. Luke, Kasz Money, Inc., and Prescription Songs, LLC’s] reputation and blacklist them from the music industry, Defendant also repeated her false statements that she had been drugged and raped by Gottwald to other artists. In addition, she also spread a knowingly false and wholly defamatory accusation that Gottwald had raped another female recording artist:

On February 26, 2016, Defendant sent a text message to Stefani Germanotta p/k/a Lady Gaga which repeated Defendant’s false claim that Gottwald had raped her. In this text message, Defendant also falsely asserted that Gottwald had also raped Kathryn Hudson p/k/a Katy Perry. Following this text message conversation, and with Defendant’s encouragement, Ms. Germanotta spread negative messages about Gottwald in the press and on social media. For example, in February 2016, Ms. Germanotta posted multiple articles discussing Defendant’s defamatory statements on her Twitter page. Subsequently, in March 2016, Defendant and Ms. Germanotta coordinated to post graphics on their Twitter and Instagram pages (which were created by Ms. Germanotta) that referred to Defendant's claims of sexual assault by Gottwald.

Yesterday, June 12, Judge Jennifer G. Schecter “permit[ted] redaction” of portions of the aforementioned document. Both Kesha and Dr. Luke’s legal teams consented. Pitchfork has also viewed this edition of the document, which redacts Katy Perry’s name.

Dr. Luke helped produce a number of Katy Perry’s hit songs, including “Teenage Dream,” “I Kissed a Girl,” and “Roar.” Perry’s most recent LP, 2017’s Witness, did not feature Luke. “I had to leave the nest,” she told The New York Times about not working with the producer.

UPDATE (06/13 7:26 p.m. ET): In a new statement provided to Pitchfork, Gottwald’s legal team refers to Kesha’s claims that he raped Katy Perry as “malicious falsehoods.” Find the full statement below.

Katy Perry herself confirmed that Dr. Luke did not rape her. Kesha's accusation to the contrary-just like her other outrageous lies about Dr. Luke - is baseless and irresponsible, and it is disrespectful to both Katy Perry and Dr. Luke. In his defamation lawsuit against Kesha, Dr. Luke seeks damages for the harm caused by these malicious falsehoods.

When contacted by Pitchfork, a representative for Kesha's attorneys declined to comment.

Read “Are Kesha's Lawyers Playing to the Public More Than the Courts?” and “Why Kesha Lost Her Court Battle, But Not Necessarily the War” on the Pitch.

This article was originally published on Wednesday, June 13 at 3:09 p.m. EST. It was last updated on June 13 at 7:36 p.m. EST.