Who Is Dr. Luke? 5 Things You Need to Know

The Kesha-Dr. Luke lawsuit has dominated headlines for over two years, but not many people may actually know who he is.

He was born as Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, but is more widely known as Dr. Luke, the record producer and songwriter. And as of April 25, Sony Music Entertainment began cutting ties with Dr. Luke in the midst of his ugly legal battles with Kesha.

But who is Dr. Luke, exactly? Well, here’s what ENTITY knows.

1 He rose to music prominence after producing Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.”

Although his professional music career started on Saturday Night Live when he played the house band’s lead guitarist, his career didn’t really take off until 2004. After he co-produced the “Since U Been Gone” single with Max Martin, Dr. Luke continued to co-produce other commercially successful records.

Some of these records in crude “Who Knew” for P!nk (2006), “Girlfriend” for Avril Lavigne (2007) and “I Kissed a Girl” for Katy Perry (2008). And on top of these records, Dr. Luke has also worked with Taio Cruz, B.o.B, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Jessie J, Ne-Yo, Shakira and Pitbull.

2 But where was he before working with all these artists?

Aside from working with the Saturday Night Live Band, Dr. Luke produced tracks and remixes for various artists such as Arrested Development and Nappy Roots.

He actually released the 12-inch single titled “Wet Lapse” under the name Kasz for Rawkus Records.

3 Dr. Luke also owns two publishing companies.

He owns Kasz Money Publishing, which he uses for his own songs and also Prescription Songs, which hires other songwriters.

And as of January 2011, 21 of the singles he had produced made the Top 40 Billboard Hot 100. With this, he became the producer with the third most hits since the Billboard charts were created.

4 Then, however, the Kesha-Dr. Luke battle happened.

In September 2013, one of Kesha’s fans began a petition to “free Kesha” from Dr. Luke’s management because he allegedly “stunted” Kesha’s creative growth as an artist. Then in January 2014, shortly after Kesha went to rehab for bulimia nervosa, Kesha’s mother alleged that Dr. Luke was the reason Kesha felt pressured to lose weight.

In 2014, Kesha then accused Dr. Luke of abusing her. That same year, Dr. Luke filed a complaint against her for failing to abide by her contract and work on a third album. And after that, Kesha then filed a countersuit, seeking to be released from her contract, alleging that he had raped and verbally abused her for several years.

5 And in a new twist, even Kesha’s supporters are being dragged into the legal drama.

According to legal documents obtained by ENTITY, Dr. Luke has demanded that Kesha’s lawyer hand over all documents, communications and information related to protesters and social media campaigns that have supported Kesha. The files even showed Dr. Luke requesting information regarding the Twitter account @KeshaTODAY, which is the “official Twitter account for the #FreeKesha Movement.”

Unfortunately for Dr. Luke, he may be remembered more for the Kesha lawsuit than his actual success as a producer.