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 almost 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 “solely God is aware of what occurred that evening.”

Dr. Luke, in the meantime, mentioned he was “completely sure that nothing occurred. I by no means drugged or assaulted her.”

Phrases of the deal weren’t instantly disclosed, as each she and he revealed on Instagram that they’d agreed to “a decision” of the case and to a press release from every of them. Messages in search of remark had been despatched to their attorneys.

“I can not recount the whole lot that occurred,” Kesha wrote, including that she needs “nothing however peace to all events concerned.”

Dr. Luke, in flip, mentioned he wished her properly and needed “to place this troublesome matter behind me” after years of combating to clear his identify.

The deal averts a trial that had been scheduled for this summer season over allegations that turned a #MeToo trigger for Kesha’s supporters and got here to contain a lineup of music business luminaries. Girl 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.

On the similar time, the case raised essential authorized questions on fame and defamation. The stakes had been seen as excessive sufficient that media shops weighed in about pretrial rulings that they fearful might assist highly effective folks suppress unflattering reporting.

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

The Related Press doesn’t usually identify individuals who report being sexually assaulted until they arrive ahead publicly, as Kesha has accomplished.

The singer made her identify — initially styled Ke$ha — with a collection of swaggering, just-try-to-stop-me get together anthems, starting with 2009’s “TiK ToK.” These early hits had been produced by Dr. Luke, who based the document 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. Moreover 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 mentioned 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 lengthy, day-after-day, each second of day-after-day,” she mentioned throughout sworn questioning in 2017. Based on 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 “utterly unfaithful and deeply hurtful” claims to tarnish him and get out of her document contract.

“Any cheap particular person won’t consider her,” he mentioned when questioned underneath oath in 2017.

His attorneys have famous that Kesha herself mentioned he “by no means made sexual advances at me” throughout sworn questioning in a separate lawsuit in 2011. She has since mentioned she was “not totally clear” in these 2011 statements as a result of she was fearful of Dr. Luke and felt compelled to guard him.

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

She finally 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 Could.

Dr. Luke’s profession additionally took successful after she went public along with her allegations. He has mentioned numerous artists, significantly feminine ones, eschewed “working with somebody who’s referred to as a rapist.”

However underneath the identify 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.

Alongside the way in which, Kesha’s sexual abuse-related claims had been dismissed due to cut-off dates and different authorized points, with none findings concerning the deserves of the allegations themselves. However she countersued Dr. Luke underneath a New York regulation in opposition to bringing frivolous fits to attempt to intimidate critics into silence; New York’s highest courtroom not too long ago dominated that she might pursue these claims.

The highest courtroom, which New York calls the Courtroom of Appeals, additionally declared that Dr. Luke is a “public determine” within the eyes of the regulation. That is vital as a result of the authorized necessities for proving defamation are more durable for public figures than for on a regular basis folks.

Decrease courts had mentioned the producer wasn’t a public determine. Over a dozen media shops and organizations received concerned within the case to argue that these earlier rulings might find yourself serving to well-known folks 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.