Kesha is facing a new setback in her ongoing legal battle with Dr. Luke. Ever since the pop star brought sexual assault allegations against her former producer in 2014, Luke—real name Lukas Gottswald—has been countersuing her for defamation. In February 2020, a New York Supreme Court Judge issued a summary judgment that ruled that Dr. Luke is not a public figure—not a “household name” outside of the music world—and rejected claims from Kesha’s legal team that the producer was libel-proof. At the time, Kesha’s legal team said in a statement: “We disagree with the Court’s rulings. We plan to immediately appeal.”

Today, a New York Court of Appeals has ruled to uphold the February 2020 ruling, as The Hollywood Reporter reports and Pitchfork can confirm via court documents. Three of the five judges on the appellate panel ruled that Gottswald is not even a limited purpose public figure for the purposes of the case, writing: “Although Gottwald has sought publicity for his label, his music and his artists — none of which are subject of the defamation here- he never injected himself into the public debate about sexual assault or abuse of artists in the entertainment industry.”

A final trial date has yet to be set in the case, though it’s expected to begin this fall. One of the two judges to dissent in the decision, Justice Saliann Scarpulla, wrote the following in response:

Dr. Luke argues, and the majority accepts, that Dr. Luke is not a limited purpose public figure because he never sought out publicity or spoke publicity about Kesha’s allegations of sexual assault or on the issue of sexual assault. That Dr. Luke has not spoken publicly about Kesha’s allegations of sexual assault is not surprising, is not relevant, and does not preclude a finding that he is a limited purpose public figure. The definition of limited purpose public figure is not so cramped as to only include individuals and entities that purposefully speak about the specific, narrow topic (in this case a protégé’s sexual assault) upon which the defamation claim is based.

As THR points out, New York passed new anti-SLAPP legislation last year that would prevent powerful individuals from being able to use their legal resources to stifle free speech. Earlier this month, Kesha’S team filed a counterclaim in an effort to pursue compensatory and punitive damages under those laws.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:

RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline http://www.rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)

Crisis Text Line
http://www.facebook.com/crisistextline (chat support)
SMS: Text “HERE” to 741-741