Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald (left) poses with singer Kesha after receiving his award on the twenty eighth Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards in Los Angeles on April 27, 2011.

Chris Pizzello/AP

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Chris Pizzello/AP

Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald (left) poses with singer Kesha after receiving his award on the twenty eighth Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards in Los Angeles on April 27, 2011.

Chris Pizzello/AP

NEW YORK — Pop star Kesha and producer Dr. Luke have settled nearly a decade of fits and countersuits over her accusation that he drugged and raped her and his declare that she made it up and defamed him, they introduced Thursday, with the singer saying that “only God knows what happened that night.”

Dr. Luke, in the meantime, stated he was “absolutely certain that nothing happened. I never drugged or assaulted her.”

Terms of the deal weren’t instantly disclosed, as each she and he revealed on Instagram that that they had agreed to “a resolution” of the case and to a press release from every of them. Messages searching for remark have been despatched to their attorneys.

“I cannot recount everything that happened,” Kesha wrote, including that she needs “nothing but peace to all parties involved.”

Dr. Luke, in flip, stated he wished her nicely and wished “to put this difficult matter behind me” after years of combating to clear his title.

The deal averts a trial that had been scheduled for this summer time over allegations that turned a #MeToo trigger for Kesha’s supporters and got here to contain a lineup of music business luminaries. Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, Pink, Avril Lavigne, Adam Levine and Taio Cruz are amongst those that gave testimony or sworn statements associated to the case.

At the identical time, the case raised essential authorized questions on fame and defamation. The stakes have been seen as excessive sufficient that media retailers weighed in about pretrial rulings that they fearful may assist highly effective individuals suppress unflattering reporting.

The courtroom conflict between the multiplatinum-selling singer and the Grammy-nominated producer has been taking part in out since 2014 and looming over each of their careers.

The Associated Press doesn’t usually title individuals who report being sexually assaulted except they arrive ahead publicly, as Kesha has finished.

The singer made her title — initially styled Ke$ha — with a sequence of swaggering, just-try-to-stop-me social gathering anthems, starting with 2009’s “TiK ToK.” Those early hits have been produced by Dr. Luke, who based the file label that signed a Nashville unknown named Kesha Rose Sebert at age 18.

Born Lukasz Gottwald, he has produced chart-toppers for Perry, Lavigne, Flo Rida and extra. Besides notching a number of Grammy nominations, Dr. Luke has repeatedly received pop songwriter of the 12 months awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

Kesha sued him in 2014, alleging he drugged and raped her 9 years earlier and psychologically tormented her all through their working relationship. She stated he harangued her about her weight, denigrated her voice and lorded his energy over her profession.

“The abuse I suffered from Luke was a decade long, every day, every moment of every day,” she stated throughout sworn questioning in 2017. According to Kesha, the ordeal sparked a flare-up of an consuming dysfunction that led to her spending two months in a rehabilitation clinic in 2014.

Dr. Luke, who has not been charged with any crimes, responded by suing Kesha. He has asserted that she made “completely untrue and deeply hurtful” claims to tarnish him and get out of her file contract.

“Any reasonable person will not believe her,” he stated when questioned beneath oath in 2017.

His attorneys have famous that Kesha herself stated he “never made sexual advances at me” throughout sworn questioning in a separate lawsuit in 2011. She has since stated she was “not entirely transparent” in these 2011 statements as a result of she was afraid of Dr. Luke and felt compelled to guard him.

Kesha went 5 years with out releasing an album through the standoff, saying she couldn’t work with a “monster” however could not get away from him as a result of she was beneath contract along with his label. His attorneys and the label’s attorneys maintained that she didn’t need to work with him personally.

She ultimately returned with 2017’s “Rainbow” and two subsequent albums, all with different producers. Her most up-to-date album, “Gag Order,” got here out in May.

Dr. Luke’s profession additionally took successful after she went public together with her allegations. He has stated numerous artists, notably feminine ones, eschewed “working with someone who’s called a rapist.”

But beneath the title Tyson Trax, he made it again to the highest of the charts in 2020 with Doja Cat’s “Say So,” garnering his first Grammy nomination since 2014. By this 12 months, he was ASCAP’s pop songwriter of the 12 months as soon as once more.

Along the way in which, Kesha’s sexual abuse-related claims have been dismissed due to deadlines and different authorized points, with none findings concerning the deserves of the allegations themselves. But she countersued Dr. Luke beneath a New York legislation towards bringing frivolous fits to attempt to intimidate critics into silence; New York’s highest courtroom lately dominated that she may pursue these claims.

The high courtroom, which New York calls the Court of Appeals, additionally declared that Dr. Luke is a “public figure” within the eyes of the legislation. That’s important as a result of the authorized necessities for proving defamation are harder for public figures than for on a regular basis individuals.

Lower courts had stated the producer wasn’t a public determine. Over a dozen media retailers and organizations acquired concerned within the case to argue that these earlier rulings may find yourself serving to well-known individuals squash free speech and reporting on sexual abuse allegations.

Earlier within the case, Kesha was ordered to pay Dr. Luke greater than $373,000 in curiosity on royalties she paid him years late.