Why Was Gaga Dismissed?
Lady Gaga was devastated when her two French Bulldogs were stolen from their walker in February 2021, prompting her to offer a $500,000 "no questions asked" reward for their safe return. Unfortunately, things got complicated as Jennifer McBride, one of those charged in relation to the kidnapping, turned them in under false pretenses but claimed not knowing they belonged to Gaga despite knowing about them being stolen from her walker. McBride was eventually arrested and eventually plead no contest to receiving stolen property possession in December - leading Gaga's lawyers to argue against McBride profiting from her involvement by trying to claim some or all of Gaga's reward money as her own.
A judge agreed, pausing the breach of contract lawsuit and giving McBride time to amend her claims before returning them back onto the docket. She denied compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, or loss of enjoyment of life for McBride.
Legal proceedings appear to be shifting away from favoring average citizens in favor of taking celebrity testimony seriously, which benefits celebrities while potentially benefitting those trying to take advantage of our courts or argue their cases without proper support from courts. This may be beneficial to celebrities; however, this trend could prove harmful for those trying to exploit loopholes in law or take advantage of its interpretation by taking their arguments to court with little consideration for legal arguments presented against them by our legal system.
One notable instance is a plagiarism lawsuit filed against Gaga in 2011. Rebecca Francescatti claimed that Gaga's Artpop hit "Judas" was plagiarized from her 1999 song, "Juda". After hearing both songs in court, Francescatti's claim was dismissed with no substantial similarities detected and Francescatti was ordered to pay damages instead.
Gaga has also been at the forefront of raising sexual assault awareness. She has spoken out against the exploitation of young girls in music industry and supported Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Gaga worked with R. Kelly on 2013's "Do What U Want", however after Lifetime's Surviving R. Kelly docu-series premiered she later removed this track.
Gaga and Rob Fusari recently engaged in a bitter legal dispute regarding his claim of $30 Million as payment for his role in Gaga's career, but ultimately the New York court denied their arguments and found they owed none of each other any funds.
What Can We Do?
Lady Gaga provides an engaging case study in the legalities surrounding celebrity status. As such, a variety of lawsuits have been brought against her, both pertaining to trademark and copyright issues and also social issues such as bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment.
One of the more notable legal battles she's been embroiled in involves former producer and lover Rob Fusari. In March, Fusari filed suit against Gaga for over $30 million alleging he played an instrumental part in turning Stefani Germanotta into Lady Gaga; even helping coin her moniker. Gaga responded by alleging their early agreement was illegal and that she owed nothing.
Fusari also had a dispute with Kesha, another young singer who has found success despite some tough personal challenges in their life. Ultimately, Gaga prevailed and had her case dismissed by a court.
Gaga has long been known for her activism against bullying and discrimination through the Born This Way Foundation, drawing support from young people of various identities - lesbian, gay and bisexual alike. Her message speaks directly to young people's experiences of being bullied themselves - she understands their experience, making her passionate approachability inspiring to many young people who face this battle each day.
No matter her success and good intentions, Lady Gaga has found herself embroiled in some peculiar legal disputes. Most notably is an allegation of theft of chord progressions from two songs she co-wrote with Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando, and Mark Ronson that is making waves: Ronsen is seeking millions in damages despite "Almost" receiving only 300 plays on SoundCloud when released originally; this lawsuit appears designed to exploit ignorance on behalf of jurors when it comes to copyright law and music in general - something no public awareness should allow.
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