Update: A legal rep for Dr. Luke is disputed this claim in a statement a statement to Entertainment Weekly:
“This is not true. Luke has an excellent relationship with Sony. His representatives are in regular contact with executives at the highest levels at Sony and this has never come up.”
When EW reached out to Sony for additional confirmation on The Wrap’s report, they only responded: “No comment.” Sony deciding to give no definitive response is the only thing people from the outside should rest on now. What The Wrap has reported are all anonymous sources. It is likely these insiders are not communicating with Sony execs in the same capacity that Dr. Luke’s people are. These conversations very well could be happening without their knowledge. Ultimately, we should rest to react until Sony makes a definitive statement.
Amidst tense controversy.
Sony may not be able to terminate Kesha’s contract with Dr. Luke, but it looks like they can just drop him themselves. According to an exclusive report at The Wrap, insiders have said that Dr. Luke will allegedly be dropped from the label a year before his contract expires. The report cites “internal headaches” as the matter of reason, including allegations of sexual and emotional abuse from his Kemosabe artist Kesha and, more recently, being called “not a good person” by former collaborator Kelly Clarkson in her own support of Kesha.
More from The Wrap:
It’s currently unknown how Sony intends to free itself from the relationship, a decision that would fall on CEO Doug Morris and his boss, Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton. Any unilateral dissolution of the contract would be a direct breach, so a negotiated exit would be most likely to save face on both sides.
Read next: Who we talk about when we talk about Kesha
