Dr. Luke No Longer CEO Of Sony’s Kembosabi Records, Kesha Legal Battle Continues

Lukasz Gottwald, the music producer who goes by the moniker Dr. Luke, is no longer the CEO of Sony’s Kemosabi Records. The move comes after singer Kesha Rose Sebert filed her third appeal on a lawsuit against Gottwald last week. The appeal is related to one of several lawsuits between Sebert and Gottwald that have lead to years of contentious legal battles.

Although Gottwald will retain a position with Sony, his tenure as CEO of Kemosabi Records is now over. This personnel change was uncovered after Sony submitted documents to the court claiming as much.

The producer and his record label were behind several major hit songs including, Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball,” and Kesha’s “Tik Tok.”

The long fought legal battle began in 2014 when Sebert filed a lawsuit claiming that Gottwald had sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally abused her for over ten years – Sebert signed to Kemosabi Records when she was 18. The suit also claims that Gottwald forced Sebert to take a date-rape drug. Although Sebert does not remember what happened, she woke up naked and sore in the producer’s bed.

Gottwald eventually sued Sebert for breach of contract as well as defamation. Sebert sued to terminate her contract with Gottwald’s Kemosabi Records but a New York judge denied the motion in May 2016. A judge has also ruled that the statute of limitations has expired on Sebert’s claims of abuse.

Despite every lawsuit thus far has been decided in Gottwald’s favor – much to the astonishment of those involved – Sony has still decided to make the change at the CEO position.

Sebert has not released a record since Warrior, which was released in 2012. She has, however, performed live and been featured on several songs with artists including The Flaming Lips and Zedd.