Doja Cat backtracks on comments about working with Dr Luke
17 December 2021, 17:21
Doja Cat angrily sets the record straight after a previous IG live was taken out of context
"I don’t think I need to work with him again."
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Doja Cat has addressed her frequent collaborations with controversial music producer Dr. Luke.
In 2014, Kesha accused Dr. Luke of drugging and sexually assaulting her. Dr. Luke has denied the claims and the two became embroiled in a legal battle which is still ongoing.
Doja signed to RCA and Kemosabe Records, which was co-founded by Dr. Luke, when she was just 17. She has since continued to collaborate with him and he has both songwriting and producing credits on some of her hit tracks, including 'Kiss Me More (feat. SZA) and 'Say So'.
READ MORE: Doja Cat says she hates taking pictures and doing interviews
The 'Woman' rapper has received backlash for continuing to work with Dr. Luke and now she has addressed it publicly for the first time. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Doja was asked about her collaboration with Saweetie on 'Best Friend'. Dr. Luke has production and writing credits on the song which, according to Saweetie, was part of a "bundle deal". She also said that the song was made years prior to its release and that she's aiming to steer clear of "any controversial situation in the future".
Doja Cat was asked if she felt the same as Saweetie on the matter, and she responded: "That's not a question I feel really comfortable answering. I haven’t worked with him in a very long time. A lot of those songs were... 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 added: "It doesn’t matter. 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."
Doja later clarified her initial comments in a follow-up statement to Rolling Stone: "I wanted to clarify something that I had been thinking about since the interview. When asked about Luke I may have said something that someone could interpret as me saying that he had taken credit on things he didn’t deserve to. I just want to be clear that I have no firsthand knowledge of that being the case and I don’t want to participate in the rumor mill. The credits on my music are accurate, and I don’t want to imply anything else."
Doja Cat added that her comments came from her being sensitive about her success being attributed to someone else, especially a man. The statement continued: "As a young woman, I think it is always important to fight for the credit that we are all due, and that was the point I was trying to make there".
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Dr. Luke's rep addressed Doja Cat's comments: "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."