Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald is asking a court to help depose Lady Gaga in his defamation suit against his former artist Kesha.
Attorneys for Dr. Luke filed a motion to interview Gaga in person, which the “American Horror Story” star has been avoiding, they said.
“In connection with Dr. Luke’s defamation claims against Kesha, various third parties are being deposed by both sides, including celebrities. Dr. Luke’s counsel served a subpoena on Lady Gaga because she has relevant information regarding, among other things, false statements about Dr. Luke made to her by Kesha,” a spokesperson for Luke said on Saturday.
“His motion has become necessary because Dr. Luke’s counsel has not been able to obtain, despite repeated request, a deposition date from Lady Gaga,” the statement concluded.
The deposition will specifically cover an exchange between Gaga and Kesha via text message, according to one of the producer’s court filings.
It that on Feb. 26, 2016 – one week after losing a court motion, Kesha texted Gaga and “asserted that Kesha and another female recording artist… had both been raped by Gottwald.” The filing argues that the text led Gaga to join “Kesha’s smear campaign against Gottwald and spread negative messages about Gottwald in the press and over social media.”
The other “female recording artist” is not identified in the filing.
Luke is engaged in an ongoing defamation suit against the “Tik Tok” singer that was filed shortly after she sued him — alleging years of psychological and sexual abuse under his mentorship. Luke has consistently and vehemently denied the accusations.
While Kesha dismissed the California case last summer without prejudice, meaning that she could theoretically take the case up again at another point, that’s not likely to happen, one legal expert explained to TheWrap at the time.
In April, Sony Music (which also counts Kesha as an artist) parted ways with Luke, who established his Kemosabe Records under their brand.
He formed the shingle in 2011, beginning a years-long relationship between the two companies that generated hits for stars like Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson and Kesha. His five-year contract with Sony was already due to expire sometime this year.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this story.