Kesha is suing her longtime producer Dr. Luke, saying he repeatedly drugged and sexually assaulted her. According to TMZ, the suit alleges that Dr. Luke, real name Lukasz Gottwald, has physically and verbally assaulted Kesha for the past 10 years, ever since she first signed with him at the age of 18.
Among those instances of assault, Kesha claims that Gottwald forced Kesha to “snort something before getting on a plane,” then forced himself on her. On another occasion, Kesha claims she was forced to drink with Gottwald, then take “sober pills” that knocked her out until the following day, when she woke up naked in his bed, “sore, sick, and with no memory of how she got there.” Kesha also says Gottwald attacked her at his Malibu home by “violently thrashing his arms at her,” leading to her running barefoot down the Pacific Coast Highway.
Kesha further alleges that Gottwald’s frequent verbal abuse toward her—saying things like, “You are not that pretty, you are not that talented, you are just lucky to have me,” and so on—led in part to Kesha’s eating disorder.
Almost immediately, Gottwald has filed a countersuit against Kesha, saying the allegations are false, and arguing that they’re just part of the singer’s attempt to free herself from her contract. He also claims Kesha tried to extort him by threatening to spread lies about him via a “Free Kesha” website, and that this lawsuit is all part of “a campaign of publishing outrageous and untrue statements” spearheaded by Kesha’s mother, Pebe Sebert, and the singer’s new management firm.