Doja Cat discusses Dr. Luke: “I don’t think I need to work with him in the future”

Doja Cat has discussed her longstanding working relationship with producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald in a new interview, suggesting that their association may not continue going forward.

Gottwald has produced several of Doja’s hits, including ‘Juicy’, ‘Say So’, SZA collaboration ‘Kiss Me More’ and ‘Need to Know’. She has also been signed to Gottwald’s RCA Records imprint Kemosabe since 2014, releasing all three of her studio albums – 2018’s ‘Amala’, 2019’s ‘Hot Pink’ and this year’s ‘Planet Her’ – through the label.

Shortly after Doja released her debut EP ‘Purrr!’ thorough Kemosabe in 2014, Gottwald was sued by Kesha, who alleged the producer had sexually assaulted and emotionally abused her while the two were working together. Gottwald denied the allegations, many of which were dismissed in 2016. Kesha dropped her sexual abuse case a few months later.

In a new cover story with Rolling Stone, Doja Cat publicly discussed her relationship with Gottwald for the first time, after journalist EJ Dickson asked the singer if she would continue working with the producer.

“I haven’t worked with him in a very long time,” Doja explains during the interview. “There’s shit that he’s credited for, where I’m like, ‘Hmm, I don’t know, I don’t know if you did anything on that,’” she adds.

“The point is he’s gotten some credit for shit. And, you know, it’s whatever. I don’t think I need to work with him again. I don’t think I need to work with him in the future. I know that… I think it was definitely nice of me to work with him.”

In a follow-up email to Rolling Stone, Doja acknowledged that when asked about Gottwald, she “may have said something that someone could interpret as me saying that he had taken credit on things he didn’t deserve to”. However, she clarified that she has “no firsthand knowledge of that being the case”, adding the credits on her music are accurate.

In a statement to Rolling Stone, a representative for Gottwald said: “Luke is very proud of Amala (Doja Cat) and the work they have done together.

“[Gottwald has] written a uniquely large amount of hits and career-defining songs, and continues to do so. As it is his daily work, his practice, as is the industry’s, is to receive publishing when he creates songs.”

In February 2020, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that Kesha had defamed Gottwald in a text she sent to Lady Gaga claiming Gottwald had raped Katy Perry – a claim both Perry and Gottwald have denied.

Back in April, Kesha was denied an appeal of a legal ruling that she defamed Dr. Luke, after the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the producer does not qualify as a “public figure”. However, in June, a new ruling stated that the producer will have to prove that Kesha made her initial claims against him with malicious intent.

Doja Cat, meanwhile, withdrew from her remaining scheduled dates as part of iHeartRadio’s ‘Jingle Ball’ tour earlier this week after the singer revealed she had tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time.