Music

Here’s Why Everyone Thought Dr. Luke Had Died Yesterday

A Instagram screenshot claiming the producer had died went viral yesterday - but there was more to it than most people thought.

by Jared Richards  6 October 2020
Dr Luke isn't dead, despite what Twitter says

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A fake Instagram screenshot reporting that producer and alleged abuser Dr. Luke had died of COVID-19 caused his name to trend on Twitter yesterday, prompting his manager to clarify that no, he isn’t dead.

On Monday, ‘Dr. Luke’ — aka Lukasz Gottwald — trended on Twitter, after an image circulated of an Instagram post by his wife saying the producer had died. In the screenshot, Gottwald’s girlfriend — not his wife, as the image claims — Jessica James appears to make a statement saying her ‘husband’ had died.

“Hey guys. It’s Lukasz’s wife Jessica,” she wrote on her own Instagram page, another red flag. “I am heartbroken to say that my husband passed away Wednesday night.”

The post also alludes to the claims of sexual assault and abuse made against the producer by Kesha, saying “he was a good man and people tried to make him seem like he was a bad guy even  though he wasn’t.” In the post, James says Gottwald passed of COVID-19, after contracting the virus in April.

The response on Twitter wasn’t exactly mournful:

James has a private Instagram account, meaning the post was slightly harder to verify.

Journalists and Twitter personalities alike attempted to confirm the producer’s death, with Dr. Luke’s manager eventually confirming to People‘s Tomás Mier that he is alive and well, saying the “account was hacked”.

The ‘hacked’ line is slightly confusing, however, given that a Doja Cat stan account had already claimed they had doctored the image months ago, only for it to go viral now. This makes slightly more sense, as the post says Gottwald contracted the virus in April.

Most recently, Gottwald has produced for Kim Petras, Saweetie, Tyga, DaBaby and Doja Cat, including her #1 hit ‘Say So’.

Despite a seven-year legal battle, Kesha remains signed to Gottwald’s imprint, Kemosabe records, though has now released two albums without Gottwald’s direct involvement. In February, a  judge ruled in favour of Gottwald’s counter-suit of defamation against Kesha. The case itself didn’t assess the validity of Kesha’s claims — an explainer of the legal proceedings can be found on Pitchfork.

A series of artists who have previously worked with Gottwald, including Pink, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson and Imagine Dragons, have pledged to never collaborate with him again.