Sony reportedly cutting ties with Dr. Luke amid legal battle with Kesha

UPDATE, 2:30 p.m. PST: This post has been updated to include a statement from Dr. Luke denying that his relationship with Sony is being terminated.

Almost a year and a half after Kesha first accused Dr. Luke of rape and physical and emotional abuse during their 10-year working relationship, Sony Music intends to cut ties with the producer before his contract expires in 2017, according to a Wednesday report by The Wrap.

Hours later, representatives for Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald, told Mashable that the report was unsubstantiated:

This is not true. Luke has an excellent relationship with Sony. His representatives are in regular contact with executives at the highest levels at Sony and this has never come up.

Lawyers and representatives for Sony Music and Kesha declined to comment on the report to Mashable. Sony Entertainment corporate reps did not respond to Mashable's inquiries Wednesday.

Sony was caught in the crossfire after Kesha requested a temporary injunction to be freed from her contract at Dr. Luke's Kemosabe Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich denied Kesha's request last month.

It is unclear how much Dr. Luke's contract is worth, but according to The Wrap, the producer signed a five-year agreement in late 2011 that ends in early 2017. Citing two unnamed sources, the Hollywood trade website said Sony intends to prematurely end that relationship, but that it was unclear how it planned to undo what amounts to a valid contract.

In a statement last month, lawyers for Dr. Luke called the abuse allegations "outright lies" and maintained that "Kesha is already 'free'" to record and release music without working with Dr. Luke as a producer. 

It wasn't immediately clear how a Sony divorce from Dr. Luke would affect Kesha's ties to him, since her recording contract is at least in part with Kemosabe, not directly with Sony. Still, on Feb. 24, Kesha posted a message urging Sony Music to "break all ties that bind me to my abuser."

"This case has never been about a renegotiation of my record contract – it was never about getting a bigger, or a better deal," Kesha wrote. "This is about being free from my abuser. I would be willing to work with Sony if they do the right thing and break all ties that bind me to my abuser."

Fellow Kemosabe artists include Becky G, Lunchmoney Lewis, Juicy J and Bonnie McKee. 

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