Music producer—and increasingly experienced litigant—Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald has now added “Kesha’s fans” to “Kesha’s mom” and “Kesha” on his list of people he’s recently involved in legal action. Pitchfork reports that Gottwald has targeted #FreeKesha organizer Michael Eisele for a subpoena that would force him to testify about ”allegedly ‘closely coordinating’ with Kesha’s camp to spread ‘defamatory statements and tarnish [Dr. Luke]’s reputation.’”
Eisele co-authored the #FreeKesha petition, which saw more than 200,000 people voice their desire to see the musician freed from her Sony Music contract, and its stipulations forcing her to work with a producer she’s accused of sexually assaulting her. Eisele also organized protests outside Sony Music’s offices.
The legal battle between Kesha and Gottwald has only grown more murky, contentious, and complex since it erupted in 2014, with a judge recently dismissing many of the claims in the singer’s counter-suit against her former producer. A court date for the case is rapidly approaching, apparently; in the mean time, both camps have been releasing emails intended to make the other party look bad, including several sent by Gottwald in which he suggested that A-list musicians were unwilling to work with Kesha because of her weight.