A defamation lawsuit filed in a Tennessee court by Dr. Luke against Kesha's mother, Pebe Sebert, has been dismissed, according to a representative for the producer. A joint statement released by both Dr. Luke and Ms. Sebert says that the latter "admits she has no firsthand personal knowledge of the events occurring on the night of the alleged rape." The Tennessee case has been dismissed, the statement continues, while the legal battle between Kesha and Dr. Luke, which is proceeding in New York, will continue.

The Tennessee case reaches back to October 2014, when Luke sued Ms. Sebert for defamation and tortious interference in the contract between Kesha and Luke, and was followed by a second defamation lawsuit in September 2016 citing comments made in a Billboard story, as well as social media posts. Previously, Ms. Sebert had countersued Dr. Luke in Tennessee but dropped that case in April 2016; another lawsuit in the saga, filed by Kesha in California, was dropped in August 2016, leaving the legal battle in New York as the only remaining venue.

Read the full joint statement by Dr. Luke and Pebe Sebert below.

Dr. Luke vigorously disputes and denies that he ever raped Kesha Sebert, and he is asserting claims of defamation in a New York court against Kesha Sebert for making statements to the contrary, which statements Dr. Luke adamantly maintains are false.

Pebe admits she has no firsthand personal knowledge of the events occurring on the night of the alleged rape. Pebe was not present that night. At that time, Pebe was in Nashville, and Kesha was in Los Angeles. The dispute between Kesha and Dr. Luke about the events of that night is the subject of the New York case, and will be decided in that case. Accordingly, all parties believe it is appropriate to dismiss this Tennessee case and focus their attention on the New York case.