Sony reportedly dropping Dr. Luke on heels of outcry over Kesha case

Sony Music is expected to part ways with producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald after being accused of sexual abuse and engaging in a contentious court battle with pop star Kesha, according to a report from the Wrap on Wednesday.

Kesha, whose full name is Kesha Rose Sebert, is signed to Gottwald’s Kemosabe Records, an imprint of Sony Music. The singer stunned the pop world in 2014 when she sued her longtime partner and superstar platinum producer, alleging a decade of sexual, physical and mental abuse. Gottwald has denied the allegations.

The trial of that suit been a very public affair, and most recently a video of the singer breaking down and sobbing in court brought more public attention to her case and very public support from some of the biggest names in pop music, most of them female.

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Taylor Swift recently donated $250,000 to Sebert after a New York judge denied an injunction she had sought to be able to record outside of her Sony contract (she has not released a record since 2012).

Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, JoJo, Lily Allen, Halsey, Sara Bareilles and Lady Gaga -- who in 2014 denied a claim by Mark Geragos, Sebert’s lawyer, that she’d been raped by Dr. Luke -- were among the artists who tweeted their support. Jack Antonoff and Zedd offered production services. And Adele dedicated her win at last month’s Brit Awards to Sebert.

When asked about the case earlier this week, Kelly Clarkson blasted the producer, who is responsible for her megahits “Since U Been Gone” and “My Life Would Suck Without You,” as “demeaning” and having “poor character.” She said her longtime label, RCA (which owns Sony Music), pressured her into working with the hitmaker.

The hashtag #FreeKesha has been trending on Twitter since the start of the case and a #FreeKesha petition gained momentum in recent months, reportedly gathering more than 223,100 signatures urging Sony to release her from the contract with Gottwald.

The grass-roots support for Sebert may signal a change in the way female artists are viewed in the music business.

Historically, stories of young pop stars being mistreated by men who acted as Svengali-like figures in their rise to stardom are common. But little was done by the industry to address those issues.

But recently other female artists and journalists have gone public with accounts of sexual harassment -- music publicist Heathcliff Berru and Swans frontman Michael Gira have both been accused of rape or sexual assault in the past weeks -- and in the video game and comedy club worlds, women have taken to social media to allege sexual harassment by specific individuals.

“It’s a shame that there’s so much speculation out there basing itself on so little information,” Gottwald wrote in a series of tweets recently. “The only truly objective person who knows the facts is the judge. ... I understand why people without all the information are speaking out. I can appreciate their compassion. But lives can get ruined when there’s a rush to judgment before all the facts come out. Look what happened at UVA, Duke etc.”

Gottwald’s contract with Sony isn’t set to expire for another year.

Staff writer Gerrick Kennedy contributed to this report.

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