Kesha’s attorneys are asking a New York judge to issue a protective order sealing nearly 1,000 pages of the singer’s medical records, BuzzFeed News first reported. The court ordered the singer’s team to produce the records as part of her ongoing legal battle with the producer and label impresario Dr. Luke, who Kesha alleges sexually assaulted her. Her lawyers claim that Dr. Luke has refused to agree to keep the records private.
In August, Kesha (whose last name is Sebert) dropped her California lawsuit against Luke (real name Lukasz Gottwald), which alleged that Luke had sexually assaulted Kesha, among other claims. But the two are still battling in New York, where Luke filed a suit against Kesha accusing her of fabricating the claims in order to break her recording contract with him.
In a court filing made yesterday, Kesha’s attorneys address 913 “gynecological, psychiatric, and rehabilitation records going back more than ten years,” which the singer was ordered by the court to produce. The attorneys claim that Dr. Luke’s team refused to agree to a standard protective order on the documents, in which both sides would agree that a given document is confidential and shouldn’t be made publicly accessible. “Rather than stipulate that Ms. Sebert’s medical records will remain confidential and free from public and media scrutiny, Gottwald’s version of the protective order would allow him to challenge the confidentiality of whatever record he so chooses,” the document reads.
Luke’s attorney Christine Lepera responded to BuzzFeed and Billboard with a statement alleging that Kesha’s team filed the motion to provoke attacks on Luke in the press. “Because Kesha made public accusations and in the case that she was allegedly harmed by Dr. Luke, the Court ordered her to produce her medical records,” it reads in part. “Now, Kesha wants to hide her records, while continuing to make self-serving, selective and misleading statements to hurt my clients publicly. Our position is that that the Court—and not Kesha’s lawyers—should decide whether Kesha’s medical information remains confidential given her public disclosures.”
Kesha’s attorneys allege in the filing that her medical records would be used against her if they were made public. “The only purpose of publishing litigants’ personal medical records would be to embarrass, humiliate, and discourage them from asserting rights in court based on a fear that their most private medical records will become public fodder,” the document reads.
The court is scheduled to decide on Kesha’s motion on October 26.
