In court documents the singer has alleged, via a text message with Lady Gaga, that the producer assaulted Perry, a claim he calls ‘false’

Dr Luke has denied a claim made by Kesha that he sexually assaulted Katy Perry.

According to court documents, the singer had sent a text message to Lady Gaga in 2016 alleging the attack. She is currently involved in a defamation case with the producer, whose real name is Lukasz Gottwald.

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Kesha has previously claimed that he raped her, which he has also challenged in the legal action.

“On February 26, 2016 [Kesha] sent a text message to Stefani Germanotta p/k/a/ Lady Gaga which repeated [Kesha’s] false claim that [Luke] had raped her,” the documents read. “[Kesha] also falsely asserted that [Luke] had also raped Kathryn Hudson p/k/a/ Katy Perry. Following this text message conversation, and with [Kesha’s] encouragement, [Gaga] spread negative messages about [Luke] in the press and on social media.”

The documents also show that Perry has been deposed as part of the trial although she has made no public statement about Dr Luke. He had previously worked with her on earlier songs including I Kissed A Girl and California Gurls.

“Katy Perry herself confirmed that Dr Luke did not rape her,” a statement from the producer’s legal team reads. “Kesha’s accusation to the contrary – just like her other outrageous lies about Dr Luke – is baseless and irresponsible, and it is disrespectful to both Katy Perry and Dr Luke. In his defamation lawsuit against Kesha, Dr Luke seeks damages for the harm caused by these malicious falsehoods.”

Kesha’s legal team has since responded to the news, stating that the claim of rape came from an industry professional.

“With respect to the recent story regarding Katy Perry, the statement that Dr. Luke assaulted her came from the CEO of a major record label, and was told by that executive at the same time to Kesha and Lady Gaga,” the statement read. “The startling statement was subsequently discussed in a private, one-on-one text message between Kesha and Lady Gaga. It was neither published nor further distributed. It would have remained completely private, except that Dr. Luke and his team took an email obtained only in discovery and decided to publish it to millions of people in his amended complaint against Kesha, and then claim reputational harm from his own widespread publication.”

Dr Luke is seeking $50m in lost earnings from Kesha for her claims of abuse.

The legal battle between Kesha and Dr Luke began in 2014 when the singer claimed he “sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally abused” her and, as a result, she wanted her contracts with him and his former label Kemosabe Records voided. Her attempts were denied and last year she released the album Rainbow, which she claims she is still owed royalties from.

After Dr Luke began his attempt to sue her for defamation, she launched a counterclaim which was rejected in May.