Kesha Parts Ways With Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Label, RCA Records and Vector Management
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UPDATED: Kesha has parted ways with both her label and management, a source close to the situation tells Variety. The news comes six months after the singer settled multiple lawsuits with her former producer and label owner Dr. Luke, which stretched over nearly 10 years but were settled out of court in June.
The singer’s deal with Luke’s label, Kemosabe, which is distributed by RCA Records, officially ended last week, the source says, seven months after the release of her last contractual album with the label, “Gag Order,” which was released in May. In a statement to Variety, a rep for her longtime manager confirmed on Tuesday that the singer has also parted ways with the company: “Jack Rovner confirms, after 16 years, Kesha and Vector Management have agreed amicably to part ways, with much love and respect.”
Kesha followed with a statement of her own shortly after: “My manager has been an unwavering supporter of helping me get through the lengthy legal battle I have been embroiled in for almost a decade. We have achieved many great successes and have shared a magnificent part of my life with me. I am so grateful to them and always will be. In need of a fresh start in my life, we have parted ways but I will remain forever grateful for the run we had.” The singer is said to be in discussions with potential new managers; reps for Kemosabe and RCA either declined or did not immediately respond to Variety‘s requests for comment.
Shortly after this article initially published on Monday, perhaps in celebration, Kesha posted a nude photo of herself on Instagram, with the caption “Coming back home to me.”
Kesha released five full-length albums — including her blockbuster 2010 debut, “Animal,” which included the smash single “Tik Tok” — and three EPs through the company, although she fought to be released from her contract after claiming that Luke sexually assaulted her; he steadfastly denied that claim and she ultimately concluded that she did not fully remember the events of the evening.
The legal battle between the singer and her former mentor and producer goes back as far as 2014, when Kesha claimed that Dr. Luke (legal name: Lukasz Gottwald) drugged and then raped her in 2005. He consistently denied the allegations over the years and sued her for defamation over her own claims against him and also her assertion that he assaulted another singer. By his account, Kesha made the allegations because she wanted out of her deal with his record label, something she vigorously denied. Even after the breakup of their personal working relationship, she continued to be contracted to his Kemosabe imprint.
Kesha and producer Dr. Luke settled a defamation dispute out of court, both parties announced lastJune, with each releasing a quote related to the settlement that indicated they mutually see this as the end of the road for their lengthy legal disputes.
Dr. Luke said in his statement that he “wish(es) Kesha well,” while the singer said that she wishes “nothing but peace to all parties involved” as the court dramas apparently draw to a close.
“Only God knows what happened that night,” wrote Kesha. “As I always said, I cannot recount everything that happened. I am looking forward to closing the door on this chapter of my life and beginning a new one. I wish nothing but peace to all parties involved.”
“While I appreciate Kesha again acknowledging that she cannot recount what happened that night in 2005, I am absolutely certain that nothing happened,” Dr. Luke wrote. “I never drugged or assaulted her and would never do that to anyone. For the sake of my family, I have vigorously fought to clear my name for nearly 10 years. It is time for me to put this difficult matter behind me and move on with my life. I wish Kesha well.”
The move to settle comes on the heels of a New York appeals court decision 10 days earlier that determined that Dr. Luke would be considered a public figure for the purposes of his lawsuit, making the burden of proof higher for the producer to prove he was defamed by Kesha. The court additionally ruled that Kesha could recover some of her legal fees from Dr. Luke if she prevailed as a defendant. But the producer also came out ahead in some other matters in the court’s lengthy brief, which ruled that some of Kesha’s statements as part of court documents that she wanted to be inadmissible would remain part of the lawsuit and be left for a jury to decide.
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