Lady Gaga‘s deposition in Kesha and Dr. Luke‘s ongoing legal battle has been unsealed.
E! News has obtained the court documents, in which the “Million Reasons” singer fiercely defends Kesha against the music producer. Back in 2014, Kesha sued Dr. Luke for alleged sexual assault and battery, while also seeking to invalidate her recording contracts with him. Dr. Luke has denied her claims and has pursued a defamation case against her. In Aug. 2016, Kesha filed to dismiss her sexual assault lawsuit against Dr. Luke in California, but a battle over contracts continued.
In her Sept. 2017 deposition, Gaga recalled meeting Kesha for the first time at Dr. Luke’s studio “many years ago.”
“I got to Dr. Luke’s house with Troy Carter and Vincent Hubbert,” Gaga stated. “We walked in. As we were walking down the hallway, I saw a girl in a bed to the left of me behind a door, and then I walked into what was Dr. Luke’s studio and sat down with him and Troy Carter and Vincent Hubbert and he played us some records. And then Dr. Luke left the room and the girl walked out and introduced herself. She didn’t say Kesha, but she said that’s me on that record, and it was Flo Rida.”
Recalling one meeting with Kesha, Gaga said in the deposition, “She came to the studio where I was and she and I had a very heartfelt and emotional conversation about what she had been through and what I had been through.”
“What we discussed was what I recall was her immense sadness and depression and fear,” Gaga went on to say. “She was visibly very different than when I had seen her before, and — but I can’t say specifically what exactly we spoke about. I just recall that it was emotional, and I wanted to be there for her.”
When asked about the allegations Kesha made against Dr. Luke, Gaga said, “Well, she told me that he used power and manipulation in some fashion or some type of verbiage. I am not repeating exactly the words that came out of her mouth, but that he used power and manipulation to control her, and that she had been given a happy pill, that he offered her something and that she took it, and that she woke up and didn’t remember, and that’s what she told me.”
Later on in the deposition, Gaga is asked about an accusation of rape and how the accusation is damaging to a reputation.
“Reputation, if you are asking about his reputation in the world, I don’t feel at liberty to speak for the entire world,” Gaga said of the allegation against Dr. Luke. “So if you are asking what my view is of his reputation, I made my view of him and his reputation when I saw her in that back room. That was an image that — of something that happened to me, and I felt and knew in my heart that she was telling the truth, and I believe her.”
Dr. Luke’s legal team has released a statement in response to Gaga’s deposition.
“Being passionate about a topic that concerns us all is admirable. However, Lady Gaga has no knowledge of what happened on the night at issue because she was not there,” the statement reads. “The actual evidence shows, among other things: Kesha got kicked out of a party after drinking too much and vomiting. As an act of kindness, Dr. Luke offered to allow her to sleep in his hotel suite, a few blocks away. Kesha slept on the bed in the hotel suite, while Dr. Luke separately slept on the couch. Dr. Luke testified under oath that he did not have any contact with Kesha. Kesha herself admitted under oath that she has absolutely no memory of Dr. Luke even being in the hotel room. Kesha has no memory of Dr. Luke engaging in inappropriate contact with her because it did not happen.”