Kesha suing Dr. Luke over alleged sexual assault and battery

Pop singer Kesha is suing her former producer, Dr. Luke, accusing him of an array of sexual assault and abuse charges.

According to a statement from her representatives and her attorney, Mark Geragos, the suit comes after a decade of mistreatment at the hands of her producer, who was born Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald.

“This lawsuit is a wholehearted effort by Kesha to regain control of her music career and her personal freedom after suffering for 10 years as a victim of mental manipulation, emotional abuse and sexual assault at the hands of Dr. Luke,” Geragos wrote. “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.”

Kesha and Dr. Luke achieved huge early success in 2010 with her album “Animal” and its companion EP “Cannibal,” which features smash electro-pop singles such as “TiK ToK” and “We R Who We R.” Her followup LP “Warrior” was less successful, and the singer later entered rehab and began a revision of her party-hard image.

In July, the singer told Elle UK that “I felt like part of my job was to be as skinny as possible and, to make that happen, I had been abusing my body. ... I just wasn’t giving it the energy it needed to keep me healthy and strong.” Kesha’s mother, Pebe Sebert, a songwriter, had blamed Dr. Luke’s influence for her daughter’s disorders, something that reps for Gottwald later called “completely false.”

Among themyriad allegations in the civil suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, are claims that Gottwald forced her to drink and take drugs against her will, and forced himself on her sexually. “On one occasion, Dr. Luke forced Ms. Sebert to snort an illicit drug before they were scheduled to take a flight. On the plane, Dr. Luke continuously forced himself on Ms. Sebert while she was intoxicated and drugged.”

On a separate occasion, the suit claims “Dr. Luke instructed Ms. Sebert to take what he described as ‘sober pills.’ ... Ms. Sebert took the pills and woke up the following afternoon, naked in Dr. Luke’s bed, sore and sick with no memory of how she got there.” The suit continues with many similar allegations.

A representative for Dr. Luke’s parent label RCA did not immediately return requests for comment.

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