In her lengthy legal battle with Dr. Luke (real name Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald), Kesha has had some uphill moments. In 2020, she was ordered to pay the producer $400K after a ruling decided Kesha defamed Luke when she sent a text to Lady Gaga saying he had raped Katy Perry. Then, in 2022, it was ruled that her lawyer had also defamed Dr. Luke with Lady Gaga rape allegations. Now, though, Kesha has come away with a W.
Billboard reports that today (June 13), New York’s Court Of Appeal ruled that Luke is a “public figure.” This means that he will need to prove that Kesha acted with “actual malice” when she claimed that he drugged and raped her at a 2005 party. Billboard notes, “To show that Kesha acted with ‘actual malice,’ Dr. Luke will now need to prove at trial next month that she either knew her accusation was false or that she acted with a reckless disregard for the truth.”
“Actual malice” has historically been tough to prove, which should make things more difficult for Luke when the defamation trial finally starts (after eight years of litigation) on July 19.
In its ruling, the appeals court wrote, “By 2014, when Gottwald initiated this defamation action, he was, by his own account, a celebrity — an acclaimed music producer who had achieved enormous success in a high-profile career. He purposefully sought media attention for himself, his businesses, and for the artists he represented, including Sebert, to advance those business interests.”