Kim Petras alludes to split from Dr Luke after first solo single without controversial producer
Kim Petras
Kim Petras has suggested that she’s parted ways with controversial producer Dr Luke after releasing a new single without him.
Petras released her newest single, “If Jesus Was a Rockstar“, on Friday (11 November). It’s the first solo offering from the artist without producer Dr Luke’s name on the credits for five years.
The trans icon has long been criticised for her associated with Luke, against whom Kesha filed a civil lawsuit in 2014, alleging emotional and sexual abuse.
Dr Luke has denied Kesha’s claims, and in 2020 a court found that she defamed him in a 2016 text exchange with Lady Gaga when she privately alleged that he had raped Katy Perry. Legal proceedings between the two are ongoing.
Kim Petras alluded to moving on from Dr Luke in an interview with i-D.
“I think people underestimate how hard it was for me to find anyone who truly believed in me,” she said.
“I had a lot of great times with the people I worked with, but it’s also time for me to be my own person, and do my own s**t, and explore what’s out there. It definitely took a little courage for me to do that right now.”
Sam Smith and Kim Petras became the first non-binary and trans artists to reach number one in the UK and US with “Unholy”.(Getty/Christopher Polk)
Kim Petras had previously come under fire for working with Dr Luke, with the #FreeKesha movement ballooning around the the release of Slut Pop, Petras’s entirely Dr Luke produced 2022 EP, featuring songs like “Throat Goat” and “Treat Me Like a Slut”.
Given the nature of Kesha’s allegations, many fans thought the relationship between Petras and Dr Luke (whose real name is Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald) was inappropriate, especially as the latter still controls the majority of Kesha’s career choices.
Kesha is signed to Dr Luke’s record label, despite her having asked a court to end the contract.
Kim Petras in the music video for ‘Slut Drop’. (Screen capture via YouTube/Kim Petras)
Petras has previously released a statement regarding her relationship with Dr Luke in 2018, writing: “While I’ve been open and honest about my positive experience with Dr. Luke, that does not negate or dismiss the experience of others or suggest that multiple perspectives cannot exist at once. I didn’t communicate this clearly in the past.”
