Kesha wins legal victory ahead of her trial against Dr. Luke
Kesha Lands Major Victory in Defamation Battle Against Dr. Luke Ahead of Trial https://t.co/6KOXOPrBuS
- The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 13, 2023
Good legal update for Kesha! A judge has made some rulings in her favor before her trial against Dr. Luke, which is expected to start next month. Basically, Dr. Luke is suing her for defamation for alleging that he sexually assaulted her. Previously, the New York courts had ruled that Dr. Luke counts as a private figure, which comes with lower standards to prove defamation than for public figures (aka, it would be easier for him to win this case).
Today's ruling reverses that decision and deemed Dr. Luke a public figure. This means he will need to prove that Kesha's statements were knowingly false and made with actual malice, rather than just having to prove negligence like he would as a private figure. He has to prove either that she knew they were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth (i.e. knew there was a strong possibility they were false and did nothing to verify). Because there's a higher burden of proof, it will be harder for him to win.
The court also ruled that Kesha can file a counterclaim to recover some of her legal expenses.
Her trial is slated to start on July 19.... but it has been delayed about a million times as Dr. Luke tries to drag this out, so who knows.
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