Kesha left a lot of her fans stunned when she came forward and claimed she had allegedly been sexually assaulted by legendary music producer Dr. Luke, whom you may know for putting together hits such as Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” Doja Cat’s “Say So,” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” to name a few.
In fact, it was Luke who helped pen and produce a majority of Kesha’s discography, having worked with her right from the beginning when she released her debut album Animal back in 2010. Yet despite her incredible success with the 47-year-old, Kesha revealed in court documents that her association with him was far from pleasant and actually quite revolting.
The singer, who's had Lady Gaga's support during all of this, recalled in court docs how she had attended Nicky Hilton’s birthday party hosted at Paris’ Hollywood Hills home where she was assaulted — just one month after the “Cannibal” hit-maker had signed a six-album deal with the producer at the age of 18.
Updated on October 4, 2022: As of today, the trial between Kesha and Dr. Luke is still ongoing. She has been keeping busy, however, with several job opportunities. Kesha started her own beauty line called KESHA ROSE, recently starred in a new TV series entitled Conjuring Kesha, and released a podcast she titled Kesha and the Creepies. In 2020, she released the album High Road, as well as featured in a few songs throughout last year.
What Happened To Kesha?
According to Kesha, she signed her deal with Dr. Luke back in September 2005, shortly after gaining recognition for her appearance on Hilton’s The Simple Life reality show.
Dr. Luke came across her demos and supposedly convinced her to ditch Nashville and move out to Los Angeles instead, and since music had been something that Kesha wanted to pursue since her teen years, she certainly didn’t hesitate at the opportunity.
At the time, Luke was best known for producing the worldwide hit “Since U Been Gone” for Clarkson, which had turned the American Idol winner into a global household name.
Kesha had high hopes that her music, with the help of Luke, could replicate that success from the aforementioned artist, and while it did end up happening for the blonde-haired beauty, she certainly had a lot of sacrifices to make.
In October 2005, a month after signing her deal, the Hiltons celebrated Nicky’s birthday, and Kesha had been invited for the occasion. It just so happened that Luke was also going to be present.
Court documents reveal that Luke allegedly passed Kesha a “date-rape” drug called GHB, which he, according to the singer, described as “sober pills” before taking her back to his hotel room and committing an unlawful act while she was unconscious.
Kesha’s mother, Pebe Sebert, came forward and shared that her daughter had gotten in contact with her the following morning after waking up naked in a hotel room. She recalled blacking out at some point but knew she was ushered back to the place by her producer, she said.
“'Mom, I don’t know where I am. I think we had sex. I’m sore and sick. I don’t know where my clothes are. I think I need to go to the hospital,' Sebert recalled of the conversation. Kesha later told her mother, ‘Mom, I just want to sing. I don’t want to be a rape-case victim. I just want to get my music out.’ I didn’t follow my instincts.”
When 2006 came along and Kesha’s music was nowhere to be heard on the radio, she teamed up with Luke to have her contract merged with RCA Records, a Sony Music Entertainment subsidiary for the distribution of any upcoming albums she plans to release.
During this time, Luke had allegedly instructed Kesha to terminate her working relationship with her management firm DAS Communications.
“Dr. Luke just called me and I have 24 hours to fire my lawyer and my managers and go back with him. Anytime I get a contract, he’s going to come forward and basically say he owns me. What do I do?” she shared in court documents.
By 2009, Kesha earned her first hit as a featured artist on Flo Rida’s "Right Round," which was produced and co-written by Luke. Interestingly enough, Kesha claimed she was never paid for her vocals being used on the song.
Then in 2010, she lands her solo hit “Tik Tok,” which went on to spend nine weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and propelling her to become one of the most promising pop stars of the new decade.
In 2012, Kesha released her second album Warrior, which landed at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 200 and went on to sell over one million copies in the US, spawning the hits “Die Young” and “Crazy Kids.”
By 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit against Luke, claiming he had not only sexually assaulted her but also “violently thrashed his arms at her,” which had led her to run down the Pacific Coast Highway in a desperate attempt to escape.
The lawsuit went on to mention that Kesha has struggled with emotional and psychological abuse involving fat-shaming.
In 2018, she lost her appeal to break her ongoing working relationship with Luke’s Kemosabe since she signed a six-album deal with him back in 2005, but the lawsuit is ongoing.