Entertainment
Dr Luke must prove Kesha ‘acted with malice’ in defamation lawsuit
Dr Luke was previously considered a private figure (Picture: Getty)
Kesha has won a victory in her seven-year legal battle with Dr Luke, after a judge ruled that the producer must prove that Kesha acted with malice in his defamation lawsuit against her.
Back in February 2020, a judge concluded that Dr Luke – real name Lukasz Gottwald – was a private figure and that he had a lower burden of proof compared to a public figure in his claims that Kesha defamed him by alleging he raped Katy Perry in a text to Lady Gaga.
However, due to the introduction of an anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) law in New York to protect free speech against frivolous lawsuits, a new ruling has found that a higher burden of proof applies to Dr Luke because Kesha spoke ‘with respect to issues of public concern’.
Dr Luke, 47, must now prove ‘by clear and convincing evidence’ that Kesha acted with malice when the case goes to trial.
Kesha, 34, will also be allowed to seek damages and legal-fee repayment, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
A statement from Dr Luke’s legal team read: ‘Today’s court hearing was only about a technical legal issue: the burden of proof at trial. Dr. Luke would have filed this case regardless of the burden of proof. At trial, Dr Luke will prove to the jury, as he has always maintained, that Kesha spread a vicious lie to get out of her contracts, Kesha refuses to make any claim against Dr Luke that she would have the burden of proof on – because she knows she would lose and that she is lying.’
Dr Luke must prove Kesha acted with malice (Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Kesha’s attorney Leah Godesky said: ‘ The case in question is over 2016 text messages to Lady Gaga in which Kesha claimed Dr. Luke had raped Katy Perry. Dr. Luke claimed the text was defamatory and won a summary judgment in 2020. The appeal trial could take place later this year.
Leah Godesky said: ‘As everyone knows from the beginning, this is a he-said-she-said case where the evidentiary burden matters.’
In 2020, a judge ruled that Kesha had defamed Dr Luke with her text to Lady Gaga, and she was ordered to pay nearly $400,000 (£290,000).
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In a deposition, Katy Perry denied that she was raped or assaulted by Dr Luke.
Kesha filed a civil lawsuit against Dr. Luke in 2014, claiming he was sexually, verbally and physically abusive to her in the decade they worked together.
She alleges that Dr Luke drugged and raped her on two occasions, allegations Dr Luke has repeatedly denied.
The producer fired back with his own counter-suit, claiming she tried to extort him by spreading lies to get out of her contract.
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