Katy Perry Says She 'Felt Pressured' to Support Kesha Against Dr. Luke in Unsealed Deposition

In the singer's deposition, Perry also revealed she felt "annoyed at both Luke and Kesha" after an allegation that the producer raped her — which she adamantly denies — was made public

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Published on November 30, 2018 04:35 PM

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Katy Perry felt upset after learning of an allegation that she was raped by Dr. Luke — a claim she has since denied — according to an unsealed deposition from the ongoing legal battle between Luke and Kesha.

In the court documents obtained by PEOPLE and first published by The Blast from her fully unsealed deposition, which took place on July 21, 2017, the “Pendulum” singer, 34, stated that after learning of Kesha’s allegations that the music producer had raped the “Praying” singer, she “felt pressure” to support Kesha.

“I felt pressured, but I also knew both of them and a lot of people did not. So it was easy for them to be disattached and support an idea rather than an actual instance,” she said.

Perry went on to share that during that time, she received numerous angry Twitter messages from users who believed that by not speaking out against Dr. Luke she was “supporting rape.”

“People were generally very angry at me for not saying anything,” she said.

Asked why she made the decision not to work with Luke on her most recent album Witness, Perry said she didn’t want it to seem like she was “picking a side.”

Perry also denied the allegation that she was raped by Dr. Luke during the deposition. The allegation was made public as part of the music producer’s defamation suit against Kesha. A rep for Perry did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.

In the deposition, Perry expressed frustration at both the fact that Lady Gaga and Kesha had texted each other about the allegation — and that the music producer was trying to use Perry’s testimony to prove his innocence in his ongoing lawsuit.

Perry said that she felt “annoyed” and “pissed off that she would bring me into it in this way” after learning of the private text messages, which were first revealed during the defamation suit. She went on to say that she felt “annoyed at both Luke and Kesha.”

“He knows I’m a tie breaker,” she explained. “Because when I say that I wasn’t raped, because I was not, that means that someone’s lying.”

“And I want to stay out of it because I know them both and I empathize with both of them and obviously it’s a horrible situation for both of them. And the only two people that know what really went on are those two people,” she said. “But Luke was using me as a pawn because it’s a good play.”

In newly released court documents pertaining to Kesha and Lady Gaga’s text messages, the two singers both called Perry “mean,” according to Us Weekly.

“Was crying a lot today and needed my mom,” Kesha texted Gaga in the unsealed messages, dated from Feb. 26, 2016. “I’m really upset with Katy Perry.”

Kesha went on to write that Perry “could bring this whole thing to a head…She was raped by the same man” but was “probably really afraid to lose everything.”

After Gaga replied that Perry was “not as strong as u yet,” Kesha added, “I need to find sympathy and empathy for her. She’s so mean. It’s hard.”

“I know she’s mean,” Gaga added, before adding that she was not close with her. “She makes me angry about s— [but] I just try to have empathy for her.”

“These text messages paint a picture of one friend trying to help another through an extraordinary difficult time,” Sean Cassidy, a spokesman for Lady Gaga, told PEOPLE in a statement. “They are several years old and in no way reflect Lady Gaga’s relationship with Katy Perry. These are private texts that — along with personal information from other high-profile individuals — have been publicly filed to generate media attention for this case.”

Shortly after news of the newly released court documents broke, Gaga said that the text messages referenced in the court documents are “old” and called Perry both a friend and “a kind soul.”

“.@katyperry & I have grown up in the industry together. We’ve gone through both celebrations & differences w/ each other. These are old texts,” she tweeted. “We’ve matured, gotten over the past, love each other & share deep respect. Katy is my friend and is truly a kind soul. End of story.”

Perry soon replied, “Love you too friend. Onward and upward.”

RELATED VIDEO: Katy Perry Denied Dr. Luke Raped Her in Unsealed Deposition as Kelly Clarkson Called Him ‘Sleazy’

The producer’s legal team previously accused Kesha of circulating the rumor that he raped Perry.

“The false narrative Kesha created about being raped became widely accepted, damaging Dr. Luke’s reputation irreparably. Compounding this malicious act, in 2016, Kesha told Lady Gaga that Dr. Luke raped Katy Perry, which is outrageous and untrue,” Dr. Luke’s attorneys said in the statement released after Perry’s deposition was partially unsealed in August.

“Katy Perry testified under oath in this case that Dr. Luke never raped her. Regardless, Kesha refused to apologize. Instead, she issued a press release which again irresponsibly suggested that Katy Perry was actually raped by Dr. Luke. It seems that Kesha wanted to perpetuate the falsehood that Dr. Luke raped Katy Perry,” the statement said.

Kesha has previously denied making such claims.

“With regard to Dr. Luke’s claim that Kesha defamed him by falsely stating he also assaulted Katy Perry, Kesha has never claimed to have any independent knowledge of any alleged assault of Katy Perry (which Ms. Perry has denied in a later deposition),” Kesha’s attorneys said in an August statement.

“But, to be clear, Dr. Luke is suing Kesha based on a private, one-on-one text message that Kesha sent Lady Gaga in 2016, shortly after Interscope CEO John Janick told Kesha and Lady Gaga he’d heard a rumor that Dr. Luke had also abused Katy Perry. Mr. Janick’s statement was discussed privately between the two friends and would never have become public, except that Dr. Luke decided to publish it to millions of people in his 2017 complaint against Kesha. This defamation claim, based on a private text message which was based on the statement of a third party, is also frivolous.”

kesha-dr-luke — Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Kesha and Dr. Luke have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle since 2014, when Kesha sued her former mentor, alleging Luke had drugged and raped her and verbally and emotionally abused her for a decade.

Luke has vehemently denied the allegations and countersued Kesha for breach of contract and defamation. A judge dismissed Kesha’s abuse claims in 2016, but the lawsuit rages on.

Kesha dropped her third album, Rainbow, in August 2017, where it peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She is still tied to Luke through her recording contract with his company.