Dr. Luke Kesha take

THE DR. LUKE MALPRACTICE SUIT: Ke$ha’s suit against Dr. Luke marks what appears to be the tipping point in the pop star’s prolonged effort to get out of her deal with the hitmaking writer/producer. Given the facts that (a) this story has been playing out for more than two years, and (b) that the negotiations were close to getting done, why didn’t Dr. Luke simply let Ke$ha out of her deal and thus avert this growing scandal? According to inside sources, Luke couldn’t let her go without creating the perception that he’d given in to her demands, and further, that the points he’d made in his most recent proposal were minor. Understandably, most believe he should have released Ke$ha from the contract rather than opening himself up to a torrent of image-damaging press. Given the current public outrage at matters of this kind, will Katy Perry and Sony Music distance themselves from him? (10/20a)