On Wednesday, The Wrap reported that Kesha's mom, Pebe Sebert, dropped her countersuit against Dr. Luke (real name: Lukasz Gottwald) in a Tennessee federal court on Tuesday. Per legal documents obtained by The Wrap, Sebert withdrew her counterclaims voluntarily. Her attorney, Alex Little, also released a statement regarding the case, reading,
The litigation with Dr. Luke has been a nightmare for Mrs. Sebert and her family. She has decided to move on and find peace and forgiveness in her heart rather than dwelling in the cancerous past of an ongoing lawsuit with no end in sight.
Sebert's countersuit is a result of Kesha filing a lawsuit against Dr. Luke in October 2014, in which she alleged that he raped her when she was 18. Kesha also claimed that Dr. Luke sexually and emotionally abused her. That same month, Dr. Luke countersued Kesha and Sebert for defamation and breach of contract claiming that she and her mother were "engaged in a campaign of publishing outrageous and untrue statements" about him and that they were allegedly using the claims as a way to get Kesha out of her contract. Dr. Luke continues to deny their accusations of abuse.
After Dr. Luke filed his countersuit, Sebert filed her own countersuit against the producer in December 2014, claiming that "in an effort to torment and harass" her, he allegedly "sexually, physically, verbally and emotionally abused her daughter."
In February, New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich ruled that Kesha could not break her contract with Dr. Luke. In April, the same judge also dismissed all but one claim Kesha filed in her countersuit against Dr. Luke and Sony, in which she alleged that her contract is like "slavery" and claimed she was the victim of a "hate crime" by Dr. Luke. The judge declared,
Although [Dr. Luke’s] alleged actions were directed to Kesha, who is female, [Kesha did] not allege that [Dr. Luke] harbored animus toward women or was motivated by gender animus when he allegedly behaved violently toward Kesha. Every rape is not a gender-motivated hate crime.
Sony's attorney told the New York Times in February,
Sony has made it possible for Kesha to record without any connection, involvement or interaction with Luke whatsoever, but Sony is not in a position to terminate the contractual relationship between Luke and Kesha. Sony is doing everything it can to support the artist in these circumstances, but is legally unable to terminate the contract to which it is not a party.
According to Rolling Stone, the claim that was not dismissed by Judge Kornreich involves Kesha's contract. Judge Kornreich did not rule on Kesha's claim that her contract was nullified after Dr. Luke sued her for breach of contract. Kesha's suit regarding her claims of sexual assault will still move forward, as will Dr. Luke's countersuit.
On April 3, Dr. Luke's spokesperson released the following statement to Rolling Stone.
The Court repeatedly stated Kesha is already free to record without Dr. Luke, and that she had not presented any facts supporting her claims. That's because all the evidence — including Kesha's own videotaped sworn testimony — show her allegations are false. The only thing Kesha is not free to do is to continue to lie about Dr. Luke through publicity stunts and outrageous smears, ignoring the fact that by her own free will she went to work and entered into new contracts with Dr. Luke years after this "incident" supposedly happened. Her goal all along has been solely personal enrichment by seeking to break contracts that brought her success and millions so she can enter into more lucrative ones. We look forward to our day in court holding Kesha accountable for her lies.
In October 2014, Kesha's lawyer released a statement to Billboard when she filed her lawsuit:
This lawsuit is a wholehearted effort by Kesha to regain control of her music career and her personal freedom after suffering for ten years as a victim of mental manipulation, emotional abuse and sexual assault at the hands of Dr. Luke. The facts presented in our lawsuit paint a picture of a man who is controlling and willing to commit horrible acts of abuse in an attempt to intimidate an impressionable, talented, young female artist into submission for his personal gain. Kesha is focused on moving her life and her career beyond this terrible time.
