Two years after Kesha first sued producer Dr. Luke on grounds he allegedly drugged and raped her, the court battle between the former collaborators continues.
Now, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry are involved in the dispute, which also includes a counter lawsuit from Dr. Luke. (Kesha is currently fighting the producer only in New York, having dropped the suit in California in August 2016.)
In a status hearing on Dec. 26, new documents were brought forward in which lawyers for Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, announced the judge handling the case received a text message Kesha sent Lady Gaga in 2016. The judge sealed the message, making its contents confidential.
But E! News reports the documents filed the day after Christmas indicate Dr. Luke "may share the text … with Lady Gaga and Katy Perry." It's unclear what he may want to prove by doing so, especially given that it was Kesha who turned the text over in discovery, according to the documents.
E! Points out "it's up to both parties' attorneys whether the text(s) will be unveiled in court."
Like many other stars, Gaga, herself a sexual assault survivor, has spoken out on behalf of Kesha multiple times.
In a radio interview with Carson Daly last year, Gaga said: "I feel like [Kesha is] being very publicly shamed for something that happens in the music industry all the time, to women and men. I just want to stand by her side because I can't watch another woman that went through what I've been through suffer."
Taylor Swift has also supported Kesha, donating $250,000 to her legal aid — a bold move given news that Kesha's lawsuit is not only pricey in itself but also has prevented her from releasing the 22-song album she reportedly finished last year.
(In February 2016, a judge denied Kesha's preliminary injunction to be released from the contract she signed with Dr. Luke's Sony-distributed Kemosabe Records label in 2005. In April 2016, Kesha wrote on Instagram that she'd been offered "freedom" from her contract on the condition that, in her words, "I would have to APOLOGIZE publicly and say that I never got raped.")
Miley Cyrus, Fiona Apple and other stars have stood up for Kesha on social media in the past year as well.
Katy Perry, however, has stayed silent on the matter, possibly given Dr. Luke's role in many of her hit recordings. After co-produced "I Kissed a Girl," he collaborated with Kerry on 15 subsequent tracks, according to Vice.
Kesha's initial 2014 lawsuit alleged Dr. Luke had abused her multiple times over the course of 10 years. It was filed the same year she sought in-patient treatment for an eating disorder.
Dr. Luke has denied all of Kesha's lawsuit claims. "I didn't rape Kesha and I have never had sex with her," he tweeted last year. "Kesha and I were friends for many years and she was like my little sister."