One iconic rock star said, “The tour before, I was selling out arenas faster than Sinatra, and as soon as that video came out, I was playing to half houses.”

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Responding to the criticism in an Instagram video, Katy said, "We're kind of just having fun being a bit sarcastic with it. It's very slapstick and very on the nose, and with this set, it's like, 'Ooh, we're like, we're not about the male gaze, but we really are about the male gaze.' And we're really overplaying it and on the nose because we're about to get smashed, which is like a reset, a reset for me, and a reset for my idea of feminine divine. And it's a whole different world we go to after this."

In her statement, Kesha said, "Only God knows what happened that night. As I have always said, I cannot recount everything that happened. I am looking forward to closing the door on this chapter of my life and beginning a new one. I wish nothing but peace to all parties involved."

In his statement, Dr. Luke said, “While I appreciate Kesha again acknowledging that she cannot recount what happened that night in 2005, I am absolutely certain that nothing happened. I never drugged or assaulted her and would never do that to anyone. For the sake of my family, I have vigorously fought to clear my name for nearly 10 years. It is time for me to put this difficult matter behind me and move on with my life. I wish Kesha well."

The announcement came several months after the release of Gag Order, Kesha's final album with Dr. Luke's Kemosabe Records. She officially parted ways with the label that December.

Her next album, 143, charted at #6 on the Billboard Top Album Sales, but it was pretty widely panned by reviewers. Her most recent singles have also underperformed.

"It was already a decade of just pure dedication, and I needed a break. Fame was a beast for me, and I fell into a really dark place. I needed to step away for a moment. I thought it'd be just a one-year moment, not a 14-year moment, but it turns out it was necessary. I really can't regret it. I, as a human, needed that time," she said.

She continued, "I come into the studio, and he plays me this verse. Automatically, I was like, 'I'm not saying that.' That was my position.' ... I tried to fight him on it, and I began writing my own, but he… It was quite forceful. In an executive-artist way. Involving others and kind of threatening my career, in a real sense. My album wasn't out yet, so it was like, 'You're not coming out if you don't do this.' The mistake that I made was not continuing to fight, but I was in tears. I was crying. I was adamant that I did not wanna do that."

In a statement, Ester Dean, the self-identified cowriter, said, "I submitted a lot of verses for that remix. One got picked, and it was co-written with Keri. Looking back, it was childish and didn't age well. I see how it hurt people, especially women, and I take full accountability. I'm sorry for my part in it. Growth is real, and so is this apology."

Interscope Records and Timbaland's reps didn't respond to Entertainment Weekly's requests for comment at the time.

The David Irving reference and other lyrics in the song have been criticized as antisemitic. In 2022, Jewish students at UCF protested his on-campus concert. He told TMZ, "There were threats to cancel the show, but everything got worked out. I feel like a lot of things got blown out of proportion from that whole time period."

At the time, a Def Jam rep told Billboard that Rick and his label had no further comment.

The scandal didn't appear to have a long-term effect on Rick's career at first, as his next album, 2014's Mastermind, peaked at #1, but it turned out to be his last chart topper. In more recent years, his ability to chart highly has slipped. He's also had several more controversies, such as when he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor kidnapping and assault charges in 2017 and when he performed at Trump's Crypto Ball in 2025.

He peaked at #39 with 2026's Set in Stone. 

He continued, "This isn't the first time that someone has had an issue with an artist doing something, or a song — even my song and lyrics. And what I realize at the end of the day is that I love everybody, and I have fans that are from 3 to 93."

Additionally, the label added a disclaimer to the since-removed music video: "The following is a satirical video based on Sororities/Fraternities and the cliche 'Literally I Can't.' This content is in no way to be interpreted as misogynistic or negative towards any groups of people. It is an art piece and it shall be taken as such."

She continued, "…specifically for my Japanese fans, WITH my Japanese label, Japanese choreographers AND a Japanese director IN Japan."

"I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and everything I learned has been so helpful now for doing interior design on TV. It's not something that I necessarily anticipated, but it definitely gave me such a leg up to already have all that background. The other day, I was doing teleprompter work," she said.