A judge has denied that Katy Perry‘s testimony in the ongoing legal battle between Kesha and producer Dr. Luke be sealed and unable to use in future court proceedings, The Blast reports.
On Thursday, a New York judge ruled that the testimony Perry gave in 2017 is “relevant to several important factual and legal issues,” adding that there is a “legitimate public interest.”
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The judge also noted that Perry should not receive special treatment, explaining that testimony from other artists, like Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine, was not sealed.
Earlier this month, Dr. Luke filed court documents opposing Perry’s attempt to seal the testimony she gave during a deposition last year. She asked the court for certain portions of her deposition to be sealed and therefore unable for Dr. Luke to reference in future court filings. She argued that the excerpts should be sealed because she felt her testimony was irrelevant to the case and had the potential to damage or harm her career.
She said she is vulnerable to “gossip column” frenzy aimed at “exaggerating salacious matters having little to nothing to do with the merits — whatever they may be — of the substantive, material issues in this case.”
Back in August, Kesha and Dr. Luke reached a deal to keep the testimony of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry sealed, but both noted that the issue could be brought up again in the future.
Part of Perry’s deposition was unsealed in August when E! News revealed a document that denied Kesha’s assertion that Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lucasz Gottwald, sexually assaulted Perry.
In the partially unsealed deposition, an attorney asked Perry, “Did Dr. Luke ever rape you?” to which she replied, “No.” When asked, “Did Dr. Luke every sexually assault you?” Perry said, “Absolutely not.”
Perry was brought into Dr. Luke’s defamation lawsuit against Kesha by Dr. Luke’s lawyers after Kesha texted Lady Gaga about an alleged incident involving Dr. Luke and Perry. Dr. Luke’s attorneys said that Kesha told Gaga that Perry was “raped by the same man,” referring to Dr. Luke, with the information reportedly coming from Interscope Records CEO John Janick because of a rumor he had heard.
After an excerpt of the transcripts was released, a representative for Janick told Variety that “Janick was simply a bystander to a conversation; not a participant in it. Although John is not a party to this litigation, he voluntarily provided factual responses to questions from both sides’ attorneys.”
Dr. Luke’s team issued a subpoena to Gaga in 2017, telling E! that she had relevant information regarding “false statements … about Dr. Luke made to her by Kesha.”
Gaga has not commented about the texts, although artists like Pink and Avril Lavigne, who have also worked with Dr. Luke, defended her from his claims.
Kesha’s lawyer called Dr. Luke’s defamation suit “meritless” while Dr. Luke’s attorneys argued it held value because “Katy Perry herself confirmed that Dr. Luke did not rape her.”
The suit comes after Kesha sued Dr. Luke in 2014 for sexual assault and battery. Dr. Luke denied the claims, writing on Twitter in 2016, “I didn’t rape Kesha and I have never had sex with her. Kesha and I were friends for many years and she was like my little sister.”
While Dr. Luke’s team claims that Kesha’ lawsuit was part of a revenge part on the singer’s part after contract disputes, Kesha’s team argues that Dr. Luke’s strategy “has been straight out of the blame-the-victim handbook, intending to humiliate and intimidate Kesha.”
