Katy Perry denied the allegation that she was raped by Dr. Luke, according to a deposition unsealed on Monday from the ongoing legal battle between Luke and Kesha.
In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Perry’s deposition from July 21, 2017, reveals that the singer, 33, repeatedly shut down the allegation that was made public as part of his defamation suit against Kesha, who accused him of raping her.
The producer’s legal team previously accused Kesha of circulating the rumor that he raped Perry.
“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,” Dr. Luke’s attorneys said in the statement on Monday.
“Katy Perry testified under oath in this case that Dr. Luke never raped her. Regardless, Kesha refused to apologize. 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,” the statement said.
RELATED: Kesha Reveals She’s Yet to Be Paid for Rainbow, Blames Dr. Luke for Lady Gaga Text Leak: Lawyer
In her response, also issued on Monday, Kesha denied making such claims.
“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),” Kesha’s attorneys said.
“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 rumor 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.”
Meanwhile, Gaga confirmed Janick’s conversation in her deposition.
“He said he had heard a rumor. … I don’t recall exactly the way he said it. I just recall that it was brought up. … He said something like I heard raped Katy , too,” Gaga said.
RELATED: Kesha Accused Dr. Luke of Raping Katy Perry in Text Message to Lady Gaga; Dr. Luke Denies Claim
Luke’s team previously alleged Perry denied the assault in a statement to PEOPLE.
“Katy Perry herself confirmed that Dr. Luke did not rape her. Kesha’s accusation to the contrary — just like her other outrageous lies about Dr. Luke – is baseless and irresponsible, and it is disrespectful to both Katy Perry and Dr. Luke,” they said in the statement. “In his defamation lawsuit against Kesha, Dr. Luke seeks damages for the harm caused by these malicious falsehoods.”
Meanwhile, another pop star spoke out against Dr. Luke in her own deposition.
Kelly Clarkson testified that the producer can be a “bully and demeaning,” 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.”
Reps for Perry and Clarkson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
RELATED: Kesha Talks Life After Legal Battle with Dr. Luke: ‘I’m Taking Control of My Life’
Kesha and Dr. Luke have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle since 2014, when Kesha sued her former mentor, alleging Luke had drugged and raped her and verbally and emotionally abused her for a decade.
Luke has vehemently denied the allegations and countersued Kesha for breach of contract and defamation. In February 2016, Luke tweeted: “I didn’t rape Kesha and I have never had sex with her. Kesha and I were friends for many years and she was like my little sister.”
A judge dismissed Kesha’s abuse claims in 2016, but the lawsuit rages on.
Kesha dropped her third album, Rainbow, last summer, when it peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She is still tied to Luke through her recording contract with his company.
from PEOPLE.com https://ift.tt/2od8G8K
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