In Kesha’s ongoing quest to be freed from her recording contract, the singer has released emails from Dr. Luke that she believes support her claims that the producer emotionally and mentally abused her throughout her career. According to the emails obtained by the New York Post, Dr. Luke sent messages to Kesha’s manager, Monica Cornia, in 2012 defending his invasive criticism of Kesha’s weight. “We were having a discussion on how she can be more disciplined with her diet. There have been many times we have all witnessed her breaking her diet plan,” he allegedly wrote. “A-list songwriters and producers are reluctant to give Kesha their songs because of her weight.” Kesha has been public about being in recovery for an eating disorder.
In a separate email, Cornia recounts a dispute between Dr. Luke and Kesha over her song “We R Who We R.” When Kesha disagreed with his lyrics painting her as a party girl, Cornia says that Luke told Kesha, “I don’t give a shit what you want. If you were smart you would go in and sing it.” “[Kesha] didn’t feel comfortable talking to him,” Cornia says of Kesha and Luke’s deteriorating relationship after the alleged incident. As both sides of their dueling lawsuits proceed, Kesha and Dr. Luke will confer with a judge over the phone next week.
Update: Dr. Luke has denied the implications of the released emails through a statement by his lawyer Christine Lepera. In it, she calls the emails “out-of-context,” saying that they neglect to show “the tremendous support that Dr. Luke provided Kesha regarding artistic and personal issues, including Kesha’s own concerns over her weight.” The statement also claims that the disputed lyrics in “We R Who We R” “were, in fact, rewritten at Kesha’s request” and accuses Kesha’s team of using the released emails to “mislead by refusing to disclose the larger record of evidence showing the bad faith of Kesha.”
