Kesha accuses producer Dr. Luke of abusing her for a decade, he fires back

In an explosive lawsuit filed this week, Kesha claims producer Dr. Luke sexually, physically and emotionally abused her throughout their 10-year working relationship.

“This lawsuit is a wholehearted effort by Kesha to regain control of her music career and her personal freedom after suffering for ten years as a victim of mental manipulation, emotional abuse and an instance of sexual assault at the hands of Dr. Luke,” the singer’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, told TMZ.

In the lawsuit obtained by TMZ, Kesha alleged Dr. Luke’s abuse began when she signed with his label at the age of 18. She said Dr. Luke (real name: Lukasz Gottwald) regularly drugged her to “remove her defenses.” In one case, she said he insisted she drink with him and then told her to take “sober pills.” The next thing she recalled was waking up in his bed the next afternoon, naked, sore and sick.

Young Kesha on The Simple Life.

She said she was so fearful of the 41-year-old producer that she once ran barefoot from his home and hid in the woods after he was “violently thrashing his arms at her.” Kesha said the abuse was also emotional and had a large part to do with her eating disorder. She claimed he called her a “fat f**king refrigerator.” He reportedly also said, “You are not that pretty, you are not that talented, you are just lucky to have me.”

Kesha’s lawyer said the singer wants to be released from her contract with Dr. Luke. He said of the lawsuit, “The facts presented in our lawsuit paint a picture of a man who is controlling and willing to commit horrible acts of abuse in an attempt to intimidate an impressionable, talented, young female artist into submission for his personal gain. Kesha is focused on moving her life and her career beyond this terrible time.”

However, just hours after Kesha’s lawsuit was filed, Dr. Luke fired back with a lawsuit of his own in which he accuses Kesha of extortion. According to TMZ, Dr. Luke said Kesha’s threatened him with her lawsuit for months and fed lies to the blogger behind FreeKesha.com. Dr. Luke also said Kesha is being manipulated by her mother, Pepe, and her new management team.

His lawyer, Christine Lepera, said Kesha’s lawsuit is part of a “campaign of publishing outrageous and untrue statements” designed to force her client to end the recording contract.