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Dr Luke dismisses defamation lawsuit against Kesha’s mother

By | Published on Monday 26 June 2017

Dr Luke

Dr Luke and Kesha’s mother issued a joint statement on Friday as their legal wrangling in Tennessee was brought to an end.

As much previously reported, producer Lukasz Gottwald and his one time protégé Kesha Sebert have been embroiled in a long running and highly public legal battle. She accuses him of sexual assault, while he claims that she made up those allegations in a bid to force his hand in a contractual dispute. It’s a complex and multi-layered case that has seen lawsuits filed in three separate states: New York, California and Tennessee.

Sebert’s mother Pebe became involved after Gottwald objected to remarks she made in support of her daughter. He accused her of defamation resulting in additional litigation, mainly in Tennessee. At one point Sebert Senior counter-sued, though she dismissed her action last year. And now Gottwald has dismissed his remaining defamation lawsuit, seemingly as a result of Sebert Senior confirming in public that she has no first hand knowledge of the assault her daughter alleges the producer committed.

The joint statement issued on Friday stated that: “Dr Luke vigorously disputes and denies that he ever raped Kesha Sebert, and he is asserting claims of defamation in a New York court against Kesha Sebert for making statements to the contrary … statements [which] Dr Luke adamantly maintains are false”.

Honing in on Gottwald’s specific dispute with Sebert Senior, the statement went on: “Pebe admits she has no firsthand personal knowledge of the events occurring on the night of the alleged rape. Pebe was not present that night. At that time, Pebe was in Nashville, and Kesha was in Los Angeles”.

The statement concludes: “The dispute between Kesha and Dr Luke about the events of that night is the subject of the New York case, and will be decided in that case. Accordingly, all parties believe it is appropriate to dismiss this Tennessee case and focus their attention on the New York case”.

With the Californian litigation relating to the dispute having also been dismissed last year, it means that only the New York lawsuits remain.



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