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It's hard to believe that it's been four years since Kesha launched a lawsuit against her onetime producer and continued manager Dr. Luke, and that even now in 2018 the full extent of that lawsuit is only just becoming apparent. Because while Kesha's lawsuit against Luke was dropped several years ago, Luke himself was quick to launch a counter-suit against Kesha which alleged that she intentionally defamed his name to the tune of ten million dollars. Luke's suit is based on three alleged falsities that Kesha stated about him in various outlets. One is that he raped her, and another is that he gave her drugs against her will. But up until now the third falsity has gone unknown. With it's reveal today, Luke has made the whole suit even messier by dragging two other A-list popstars into the suit. We learnt a while ago that Luke's team had asked Lady Gaga to turn over her text messages with Kesha to the court as evidence, and now we know why. According to Luke, Kesha told Gaga in a series of text messages that Luke had raped not only herself, but Katy Perry as well. The allegation is an interesting twist in the tale of deceit. If Luke's claim is correct - which still isn't a sure thing, as context could account for a lot in this case - then the truth of the matter between him and Kesha comes down to this very text. If she was telling the truth about Katy, it's likely that she was telling the truth about her own experience; if she was lying, her credibility is entirely wasted and there's no reason she couldn't have lied about her own abuse. Of course, the only person other than Luke who knows about the alleged Katy Perry abuse is Katy herself. For the record, Katy has never said anything about Luke raping her, or said anything negative about Luke at all for that matter. When it was noted that she hadn't worked with him for her Witness album, she simply stated "I had to leave the nest". Katy has apparently been deposed for the case, but it's so far unknown what she's said. We do at least know why Luke chose the figure of $10 million for the lawsuit, however; according to him, that's the amount that he lost out on when he wasn't able to produce Katy's albums due to the lawsuit. So tell us: what are your thoughts on this absolute mess?

Kesha's comeback single 'Praying' was released last month to almost unanimous positive reviews, but it seems as though not everyone is too happy about it. Kesha's former producer and alleged rapist Dr. Luke has come out of hiding once again to confirm that he listened to, and approved, each and every song on Kesha's upcoming Rainbow album: including 'Praying', the feminist anthem that many believed was aimed at him. "There was no change in Kesha's contractual recording obligations -- she has not succeeded on any legal claim or motion to avoid them," said Luke's legal representative in a statement. "Instead, she was always free to record and refused to. Now, as legally required all along, the album was released with Dr. Luke's approval by Kemosabe which is a joint venture label of Dr. Luke and Sony." The statement is an interesting twist in the saga of Kesha and Luke. Last month, Dr. Luke had all ties with Sony Records publicly severed after he was cut from their online roster. He was also confirmed to no longer act as the CEO of Kemosabe, the record label he started which Kesha was signed to alongside Sony. Which begs the question: why does he still have a say in Kesha's releases? Without the contracts in hand, it's difficult to know why someone who is no longer the CEO of a record label that an artist is signed to should have final say on what they release, but we bet it has to do with some strange wording in the legal documents. More interestingly, why is Luke so happy to release an album full of material that is quite explicitly aimed at him? At this point, it seems as though he's just given up on fighting the publics perception of him, and is happy to take their money as long as he can until his contract with Kesha expires. What do you think of the announcement? Does Luke's involvement in the record turn you off buying it? Check out the lead single 'Praying' below and let us know your thoughts in the comments section!

Troubled popstar Kesha has leaked some very upsetting e-mails in her legal quest to break all ties with former label head, manager and record producer Dr. Luke. In what seems to be a continuously ongoing battle, Kesha alleged in court over two years ago that Luke was mentally and sexually abusive. One year later, a judge ruled that Kesha can’t break her exclusive recording contract with Sony and Dr. Luke, despite claims that he’d drugged and raped her and called her a "fat fucking refrigerator" which would later to go on to trigger a stint in rehab for an eating disorder. Now, she’s asking the judge to reconsider their decision. Kesha's latest claim states that she wants to "be free from her abuser and rebuild her physical, emotional, and mental health," as her attorney writes in court papers filed this week. In a response that has surprised no one, Dr. Luke has stood his ground and vehemently denied the claims. Nevertheless, newly released emails between Luke and Kesha’s manager Monica Cornia give some credence to the artist’s claims that the producer was heartless when it came to her weight and did in fact play some part in her eating disorder. "Nobody was calling anybody out," Luke wrote to Cornia at 2:11 a.m. on June 28, 2012, according to one of the leaks. "We were having a discussion on how she can be more disciplined with her diet. there have been many times we have all witnessed her breaking her diet plan. this particular time — it happened to be diet coke and turkey while on an all juice fast." In her response, Cornia asks him to calm down as Kesha is "a human and not a machine" before adding, "if she were a machine that would be way cool and we could do whatever we want". Furthermore, Dr. Luke had stated in an earlier message that "A list songwriters and producers are reluctant to give Kesha their songs because of her weight" - a strange comment given the fact that Kesha writes all of her own music which is almost exclusively produced by Luke himself. In an e-mail from May 2012, Cornia discusses a fight between the singer and her producer over lyrics for what would become her club banging single 'Crazy Kids', from her second album Warrior. In her e-mail, the manager states that Dr. Luke had wanted Kesha to rap the phrase, "You see us in the club sip sippin bub"; while Kesha, who said that she did not go to clubs, had preferred, "You see us in the streets we da we da freaks." According to Cornia, Luke's response was: "I don’t give a shit what you want. If you were smart you would go in and sing it." She adds that Kesha tried to reach an agreement with Dr. Luke, but understandably "didn’t feel comfortable talking to him" in the studio. According to Cornia, "he refused to come downstairs so we left." "She wears the pants in MY house?", Luke allegedly questioned in a rage. Both parties are scheduled for a telephone conference with the judge next week, but given her past experiences with the law it's not looking great for Kesha's legal team.

The situation between popstar Kesha and her record producer and alleged rapist Dr. Luke may have reached boiling point a few weeks ago as she was denied the right to leave the Luke owned label, Kemosabe Records, but the battle is far from over; and joining the fight against Luke is not only a myriad of celebrity supporters, but also a fair amount of singers who have had personal contact with the producer and who have left less than impressed. Adding her voice to the cacophony of disgust lately is the original American Idol herself Kelly Clarkson, who recently discussed her own negative experiences with the producer on Australian radio show KIIS FM. Clarkson's discussion of Luke originally began online with a Tweet which linked to another user's assertion that Kesha's given verdict "is some legit bullshit". But when she was grilled about the Tweet live on radio last Monday morning, Clarkson refused to back down, claiming that Luke is a "talented dude" but with "poor character", and that her work with him was forced upon her by her label. Clarkson, who most famously worked with the producer on hits like 'Behind These Hazel Eyes' and 'Since U Been Gone', opened up about her Tweet when she said "He’s just not a good person to me. We’ve clashed. I can’t really say anything about [Kesha’s accusations]. Her fans are like, ‘Why aren’t you standing up for her?’ and I’m like, ‘Well, I wasn’t there.’ I don’t know specifically what happened in their situation. Obviously I wasn’t there in the room. I can remark on his character. [...] I get along with everyone I work with. I love everyone I work with. He’s just not a good guy for me." When pressed on the subject, Clarkson continued: Despite this, she refused to comment on the specifics of Kesha's accusations, saying “I don’t know that situation. He’s never done anything like that with me. But if it’s true I can’t imagine working with someone who had done something like that.” While Dr. Luke and his rep have yet to officially comment on Clarkson's statements, a close source did state simply that “Dr. Luke and his partner were asked to work with her”, although whether this was by Clarkson herself or her label was not made apparent. Sony Music, who both Clarkson and Kesha are signed to, has also not responded to any requests for comments. What do you think about Clarkson's accusations? Is she simply jumping on a bandwagon, or do her complaints have merit? Let us know in the comments down below!

The artist formally known as Ke$ha has hit another bump in the long, winding road to freedom. The last time we heard from the queen of trash-pop, she was putting her record label Sony Records on blast for having full knowledge of, and actively concealing, the abuse that she allegedly faced at the hands of super-producer Dr. Luke. Now, the songstress’ suit has faced another setback – although thankfully this time it’s a relatively minor one.Part of Kesha’s claim is that Dr. Luke, as her manager, refused to negotiate her contract with Kenosabe Records. However, that very same contract purpotedly states that any legal disputes regarding it must be handled in the state of New York, where the label is based. Kesha’s lawyers are countering that as the majority of the incidents in the case happened in California, and that as she didn’t willingly enter into the contract in the first place, her consent to the contract should be invalid – but a judge has just ruled that any further advancements in the case will have to take place in New York. Meanwhile, things are getting even uglier when we consider that the case and Luke’s counter defamation suit is stopping Kesha from releasing any new music or putting her name on pretty much anything. For her Animals sake, we’re hoping that this whole thing gets settled promptly and that Kesh is able to get back to work on releasing new music – and fast!