Kesha (Photo: DFree / Shutterstock.com)
The NEW YORK Court of Appeals ruled that DR. LUKE (real name LUKASZ GOTTWALD) is a “limited public figure,” which overturns a previous appeals court decision that declared him a public figure. The ruling is important, because in 2014, when DR. LUKE began his defamation case against KESHA, he claimed the status of a celebrity, and this new decision means that he must prove with convincing evidence that KESHA (real name KESHA ROSE SEBERT) acted with actual malice toward him.
The appeals court also ruled that KESHA should not have been denied the opportunity to file a counterclaim for emotional distress and damages against DR. LUKE. In 2014, KESHA filed a lawsuit against DR. LUKE, alleging physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and DR. LUKE countersued, denying her allegations and also claiming KESHA defamed him. KESHA’s claims were dismissed by a judge in 2016. A NEW YORK state judge ruled against KESHA in 2020 and an appeals court upheld that decision one year later, but the Court of Appeals reversed that ruling, which will allow the case to move to trial.
DR. LUKE’s attorney CHRISTINE LEPARA told REUTERS, “At trial, MS. SEBERT will be required to defend her harmful and long-standing press campaign against MR. GOTTWALD,” and added the “counterclaims would ultimately be rejected.”
