Dr. Luke has dropped his defamation lawsuits against Kesha‘s mother, Pebe Sebert, Page Six has confirmed.
Dr. Luke and Sebert released a joint statement regarding the news on Friday afternoon:
Dr. Luke vigorously disputes and denies that he ever raped Kesha Sebert, and he is asserting claims of defamation in a New York court against Kesha Sebert for making statements to the contrary, which statements Dr. Luke adamantly maintains are false.
Pebe admits she has no firsthand personal knowledge of the events occurring on the night of the alleged rape. Pebe was not present that night. At that time, Pebe was in Nashville, and Kesha was in Los Angeles. The dispute between Kesha and Dr. Luke about the events of that night is the subject of the New York case, and will be decided in that case. Accordingly, all parties believe it is appropriate to dismiss this Tennessee case and focus their attention on the New York case.
Kesha and Dr. Luke have been locked in an ugly and drawn-out legal battle since the fall of 2014 when the singer first sued the producer for sexual assault and battery.
Dr. Luke first sued Sebert for defamation in October 2014, claiming she orchestrating the allegations of sexual impropriety against him in an attempt to get him to release the singer from her recording contract with him. Dr. Luke again sued Sebert last fall, claiming she had continued to defame him since the initial complaint.
The decision to drop the suits against Sebert means that the legal battle between the producer and his former protégé is down to a single New York case.
A representative for the singer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.