For years, Kesha and Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, have been in a legal battle after Kesha accused him of raping and abusing her. Dr. Luke then sued Kesha for defamation and breach of contract, according to The New York Times. In May, a New York appeals court ruled that the pop singer’s adjustments to her previous lawsuit were “palpably insufficient and devoid of merit.”
Now, more information has surfaced that further complicates this conflict. While it was already known that Dr. Luke and his legal team wanted to speak to Lady Gaga about text messages Kesha allegedly sent her accusing Dr. Luke of raping another artist, the name of that artist was unknown, according to Pitchfork.
The Blast reports that the artist mentioned in the text messages Kesha sent to Lady Gaga was Katy Perry. In documents filed on May 31, Dr. Luke’s legal team writes that Kesha falsely claimed that Dr. Luke drugged and raped her, and that she “also spread a knowingly false and wholly defamatory accusation that Gottwald had raped another female recording artist.”
The documents continued: “On February 26, 2016, Defendant sent a text message to Stefani Germanotta p/k/a Lady Gaga which repeated Defendant’s false claim that Gottwald had raped her. In this text message, Defendant also falsely asserted that Gottwald had also raped Kathryn Hudson p/k/a Katy Perry. Following this text message conversation, and with Defendant’s encouragement, Ms. Germanotta spread negative messages about Gottwald in the press and on social media.”
Katy Perry has never publicly accused Dr. Luke of sexual assault, according to the Blast, and when she stopped working with Dr. Luke, she told The New York Times it was because she had to “leave the nest.”
In a statement to PEOPLE, Dr. Luke’s legal team said, “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. In his defamation lawsuit against Kesha, Dr. Luke seeks damages for the harm caused by these malicious falsehoods.”
What damages exactly? Well, Dr. Luke believes Kesha’s allegations have negatively impacted his career and reputation—and he also says he’s lost tons of potential money, including more than $10 million he would’ve made for Katy Perry’s albums, the Blast reports.
In the documents filed on May 31, Dr. Luke’s legal team also alleges that Kesha and Lady Gaga created graphics for Twitter and Instagram that referenced Kesha’s sexual assault allegations against Dr. Luke.
In this ongoing legal battle between the two, Kesha is fighting to no longer perform under her contract with Dr. Luke and end their professional relationship. The New York Times reports that in her May countersuit, she said, “You can get a divorce from an abusive spouse. You can dissolve a partnership if the relationship becomes irreconcilable. The same opportunity—to be liberated from the physical, emotional and financial bondage of a destructive relationship—should be available to a recording artist.”