The 33-year-old singer’s testimony in Dr. Luke and Kesha’s ongoing court case- in which Kesha is being sued for defamation by the producer after she accused him of sexually assaulting her and giving her drugs against her will – was unsealed on Monday (27.08.18) and Katy’s denial was revealed.
Her testimony was originally given after a text message exchange between Lady Gaga and Kesha in February 2016 was uncovered, which alleged that producer Dr. Luke had raped Katy.
Speaking after the deposition was unsealed, Dr. Luke’s legal team told PEOPLE: “The false narrative Kesha created about being raped became widely accepted, damaging Dr. Luke’s reputation irreparably. Compounding this malicious act, in 2016, Kesha told Lady Gaga that Dr. Luke raped Katy Perry, which is outrageous and untrue.
“Katy Perry testified under oath in this case that Dr. Luke never raped her. Regardless, Kesha refused to apologise. Instead, she issued a press release which again irresponsibly suggested that Katy Perry was actually raped by Dr. Luke. It seems that Kesha wanted to perpetuate the falsehood that Dr. Luke raped Katy Perry.”
However, Kesha, 31, has denied making the allegations.
Her team said: “With regard to Dr. Luke’s claim that Kesha defamed him by falsely stating he also assaulted Katy Perry, Kesha has never claimed to have any independent knowledge of any alleged assault of Katy Perry (which Ms. Perry has denied in a later deposition).
“But, to be clear, Dr. Luke is suing Kesha based on a private, one-on-one text message that Kesha sent Lady Gaga in 2016, shortly after Interscope CEO John Janick told Kesha and Lady Gaga he’d heard a rumour that Dr. Luke had also abused Katy Perry. Mr. Janick’s statement was discussed privately between the two friends and would never have become public, except that Dr. Luke decided to publish it to millions of people in his 2017 complaint against Kesha. This defamation claim, based on a private text message which was based on the statement of a third party, is also frivolous.”
Lady Gaga confirmed the conversation with Janick in her deposition.
She said: “He said he had heard a rumour. … I don’t recall exactly the way he said it. I just recall that it was brought up. … He said something like I heard [Dr. Luke] raped Katy [Perry], too.”
Meanwhile, Kelly Clarkson, 36, blasted Dr. Luke, 44, in her own deposition, saying: “In general, I don’t know anyone that likes him… People have said he is sleazy. People have said he is belittling, the same kind of things that I say. He is very, I mean, just to be blunt, he can be kind of a bully and demeaning. I don’t like him as a person.”