Published 21:53 IST, February 7th 2020
Kesha suffers a major setback in her legal battle against Dr Luke; read details
Kesha recently suffered a major setback in her legal battle against Dr. Luke, when she was found guilty of defamation and was ordered to compensate the producer
American singer Kesha Rose Sebert recently suffered a huge setback in her five-year legal battle with Dr. Luke. Back in 2014, Kesha had sued her producer, Dr. Luke, for sexual assault. Dr. Luke then sued her back for defamation, claiming that her rape charges were false and were only meant to damage his reputation. While Kesha's sexual assault case fell apart, Dr Luke's defamation suit is still on-going even after five years. However, with the discovery of new evidence, it seems that Kesha might finally lose the case.
Kesha might have suffered a huge setback in her legal-war against Dr Luke
Recently, several past statements made by Kesha have come to the surface. It was recently discovered that Kesha had once texted Lady Gaga, telling her that Dr. Luke had also raped Katy Perry. However, this statement was undeniably false, and the judge has now ruled that this statement is enough to prove that Kesha willfully defamed Dr. Luke.
In Dr. Luke's suit, he claimed that Kesha had smeared him with a false rape allegation and that her attorneys had cooked up a sham lawsuit to get her out of a recording and publishing contract. According to a plan written down by Kesha's attorneys, the case was meant to inciting a deluge of negative media attention and public pressure on the basis of the horrific personal abuses presented in the lawsuit. Judge Jennifer Schecter, who now handles the case, recently judged that Dr Luke was not a household name, and was hence not a public figure and would be compensated by Kesha if he won the case.
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Judge Jennifer Schecter now ruled that Kesha made a false statement to Lady Gaga about Gottwald that was defamatory per se. She added that there was no evidence whatsoever that Gottwald raped Katy Perry. Moreover, the publication of a false statement to even one person, here Lady Gaga, was sufficient to impose liability.
The judge also ruled that Kesha must pay Dr Luke $373,000 for the late payment of her royalties. However, the case is not yet over, as Dr Luke's lawyer confirmed that he was pursuing this lawsuit to seek recovery for the serious harm Kesha’s false accusations of rape have caused him, his family and business. In a separate statement, Kesha's lawyer said that their legal team disagreed with Judge Jennifer Schecter's ruling and planned to immediately appeal the case.
Updated 21:53 IST, February 7th 2020