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Kesha is suing producer Dr. Luke for alleged sexual assault, battery
Kesha is suing producer Dr. Luke for 10 years of allegedly sexually, physically, emotionally, and verbally abusing her to the point that she almost died, TMZ reports. The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Luke, born Lukasz Gottwald, made sexual advances toward Kesha starting almost immediately after she signed to his record label at age 18, and asks that she be released from her contract with him.
TMZ outlines some of the sadder details:
In one instance, Kesha claims he forced her to snort something before getting on a plane... and during the trip he forced himself on her while she was drugged.
On another occasion, Kesha claims after forcing her to drink with him, Dr. Luke gave her what he called "sober pills." Kesha claims she woke up the following afternoon, naked in Dr. Luke's bed, sore, sick... and with no memory of how she got there. [TMZ]
The lawsuit also alleges that Gottwald's verbal abuse contributed to Kesha's eating disorder, for which the pop singer did a stint in rehab earlier this year. Kesha claims that Gottwald said, "You are not that pretty, you are not that talented, you're just lucky to have me," and also called her a "fat f--king refrigerator."
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"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 an instance of sexual assault at the hands of Dr. Luke," Kesha's lawyer, Mark Geragos, told TMZ.
Update 2:24 p.m.: Dr. Luke has filed a counter lawsuit accusing Kesha of spreading lies so that she can get out of her contract, and accusing her of extortion.
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Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
