Dr. Luke nixes approval for Kesha performance at Billboard awards

Kesha and Dr. Luke's bitter legal and professional quarrel careens on.

In the latest conflict, Kesha lost a gig — she was to perform at Sunday's Billboard Music Awards — because Dr. Luke's record label, Kemosabe Records (to which she is still tied), nixed its approval.

Why? It might have something to do with a report in TMZ and the New York Daily News last week, in which "sources close to Kesha" claimed she planned a performance in which she would diss Dr. Luke (real name: Lukasz Gottwald).

She denied this late Tuesday. Earlier in the day, a statement from dick clark productions, which produces the awards show, said that Kesha had accepted its invitation to perform at the show and "received written approval from Dr. Luke's label."

"Kemosabe subsequently rescinded its approval following a media report on Wednesday, May 11th regarding Kesha’s appearance on the BBMAs," the statement read. "Unfortunately, Kesha and Kemosabe have since been unable to come to an agreement for Kesha to perform on the show.  dick clark productions has a long standing relationship with Kesha.  We hope that the parties can come to an arrangement such that we can continue that long-standing relationship with a performance by Kesha on the Billboard Music Awards stage on May 22nd."

Oops.

If the two sides don't reach agreement before Sunday, Kesha loses out on a chance to appear on the same stage as Ludacris and Ciara, who will be hosting; with Madonna, who will be paying tribute to her pal Prince; with Britney Spears, who will get the Millennium Award for outstanding career achievement and influence in the music industry; and with Celine Dion, who will receive the ICON Award for her lifetime achievement and enduring contribution to popular music.

Kesha issued a statement late Tuesday on her Instagram page saying she had planned to perform a tribute to Bob Dylan with a cover of It Ain't Me, Babe, and denying that she planned to disparage Dr. Luke.

"I'm very sad and sorry to say I won't be allowed to do this," she said. "I just wanted to make very clear that this performance was about me honoring one of my favorite songwriters of all time and has never had anything at all to do with Dr. Luke. I was never going to use a picture of him, speak of him or allude to my legal situation in any way. I simply wanted to sing a song I love to honor an artist I have always looked up to. thank u all for the continued support."