The sexual assault case against Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, a.k.a. Dr. Luke, by singer Kesha may have been dropped in 2016, but his tawdry reputation continues to make headlines. In an October 5 interview with the New York Times , Grammy winner Pink spoke out about her opinion of Dr. Luke- and it was far from exemplary.
“I don’t know what happened,” Pink said, referring to Dr. Luke’s alleged assault on Kesha. “But I know that regardless of whether or not Dr. Luke did that, this is his karma and he earned it because he’s not a good person.”
In 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit naming Dr. Luke as a sexual predator who used his position of power to force women into inappropriate situations. She goes on to make claims that Dr. Luke fed her a steady diet of drugs and alcohol while engaging in sexual behavior with her. Kesha left straight from high school at the behest of Dr. Luke in order to begin her music career. She initially signed with his company, Prescription Records , but felt that it wasn’t conducive to her career- and chose to seek another contract.
This dance of contracts continued up until the 2016 verdict denying Kesha’s ability to break free from the deal that put her in direct contact with the man that she claimed doubled as her abuser. The 2016 ruling did not decide whether or not the allegations against Dr. Luke were true. They only made it impossible for her to break free from her contract with Sony . Kesha claimed that the trauma involved with working with the man who actively abused her had caused her to avoid necessary aspects of her career, and was harming her personal success.
In an article released by Cosmopolitan following the initial decision, Jill Filipovic said, “The court more or less sided with Dr. Luke, adding that an injunction was an extraordinary remedy (had she won, her contract with Sony for all intents and purposes would have been voided).”
In answer to her 2014 civil case, Dr. Luke filed a suit of his own- claiming defamation of character. The civil suit included Kesha’s mother, and stated that they were “spreading lies” about him within the music industry. The initial case against Kesha’s mother, Pebe, was later dropped, but the case against Kesha continues on in New York.
Pink isn’t the first star to speak out against Dr. Luke and the treatment of women within the music industry. Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga, and Miley Cyrus have all shown their support via personal contact or more publicly using social media. All of these are women who have either worked with Dr. Luke and experienced his behavior first hand, or who have harrowing tales that depict the abuse and degradation of women working in the industry. A 2016 Tweet by Kelly Clarkson sums up her feelings about Dr. Luke-
Trying 2 not say anything since I can’t say anything nice about a person… so this is me not talking about Dr. Luke https://t.co/lLhtUHbmgG
— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) February 19, 2016
Pink went on to say, “I have told him that to his face, and I do not work with him. He doesn’t do good business, he’s not a kind person, he doesn’t do the right thing when given ample opportunities to do so, and I don’t really feel that bad for him.”
[Featured Image By Jordan Strauss/AP Images]
