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Lady Gaga Settles Charity Lawsuit And Covertly Responds To South African Controversy

Posted 6/26/12 12:10 pm EST by in Lady Gaga, Tweet Beat

By Zachary Swickey

No good deed goes unpunished, as pop superstar Lady Gaga found out when she tried to raise money for victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The accusations came in the form of a nasty lawsuit claiming that the charity she had set up for the victims was not donating 100 percent of the proceeds, and to settle the claim Gaga will write a big check for charity.

The lawsuit claims that fans and visitors to her website were misled with a charitable promotion selling wristbands – an idea similar to Lance Armstrong’s “Live Strong” bracelets. The charity stated that all proceeds would directly go to relief funds. However, the lawsuit claims that the sales tax and $4 charge for shipping created additional funds that were not donated.

Originally, Gaga offered the wristbands for just five bucks with the message “We Pray For Japan” stamped on them while also offering visitors the opportunity to donate more money. Public court records show that around $1.5 million was raised for the victims of the tsunami disaster, but Detroit-based attorney Alyson Oliver claimed the shipping and tax charges weren’t going to charity.

To settle the suit, Lady Gaga and several other defendants – who all feel the lawsuit has no credit – will pay an additional $107,500 to charity for the tsunami victims.

In other typical Gaga drama, a religious group with the long-winded name (Christians Against Lady Gaga & Beyonce’s SA (South-African) Tours) has got a few thousand followers behind them protesting the singer’s upcoming tour of South Africa. Not everyone is protesting the tour, of course, as ticket sales for the shows crashed the servers for the Computicket website.

The organization began a four-day “prayer avalanche” to support their cause and stop the “filthy demon” known as Lady Gaga from performing.

In a tongue-in-cheek pic post on her Twitter account, the superstar somewhat responded with a risqué photo of herself and caption reading, "Hey Melbourne we're here! We can hear you downstairs! Is that church bell ringing for us? The devil of pop is here."

The “Devil of Pop” and proud of it:

Lady Gaga, Twitter

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And Now South African Religious Groups Are Up In Arms Over Lady Gaga's Planned Concerts In The Country

Posted 6/25/12 4:49 pm EST by in Lady Gaga, Tour Dates

Lady Gaga

Blerg.

Last week we reported that Lady Gaga's announced South African concerts in Johannesburg on November 30 and Cape Town on December 3 were met with such a fan frenzy that Little Monsters flocking to the Computicket website for tickets crashed its servers.

Well, Gaga is now being greeted with a song and dance routine she heard throughout the Asian leg of her "Born This Way Ball" tour – religious groups in the country are calling for the concerts to be canceled. Many of the tour's dates in Asia were plagued by protests from Christian and Islamic groups, culminating in a particularly frightening situation in Indonesia, where an Islamic extremist organization threatened the pop superstar with violence, forcing her to cancel a sold-out show in Jakarta.

Now, a group calling itself Christians Against Lady Gaga & Beyonce’s SA Tours (we didn't realize Beyonce was planning a tour, but just go with it) has built up a few thousand followers, all of whom are hoping to stop "filthy demon" Lady Gaga from performing in the country.

The group began a four-day "prayer avalanche" to support their cause on Thursday and will assemble on July 7 to think of what steps to take next.

We believe everyone is entitled to their opinion, but a look through some of the messages on the Facebook page really makes you wonder how a group that should be espousing tolerance given their religious affiliation could be so dang intolerant … but that's something we think, sadly, all too often when LGBT and women's issues enter the conversation, as they do the second someone mentions Gaga, a vocal adovocate for both.

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Principal Dresses Up As Lady Gaga As Part Of Bet In Students' Reading Challenge

Posted 6/22/12 1:15 pm EST by in Lady Gaga

Last October, elementary school principal Justin Vernon (not that Justin Vernon, obviously) challenged the 170 students in kindergarten through fifth grade at his public school in the Boston area to read a combined 10,000 books by the end of the academic year. The challenge did not come without some conditions:

"They pushed back on me, saying 'If we're going to have to read all these books to meet our goal, you've got to do something for us," Vernon told local news station WCVB-TV. "Somehow I got stuck with dressing up as Lady Gaga and milking a cow."

Vernon made good on his promise this week when the students at Roger Clap Innovation School in Dorchester exceeded their goal by 3,000 books, averaging more than 75 books per student.

To monitor the students – three-quarters of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch with a fifth receiving special education services – accountable for their home reading claims, teachers at the school had parents fill out and sign logs.

"Students were always asking 'Is he really going to do it?'" first-grade teacher Tim Apple said.

They got their answer when Vernon arrived in a stretch limo wearing high heels, a frilly black dress, tiara, blonde wig and oversized sunglasses and made his way to the school's athletic field, where a cow awaited him.

Coolest. Principal. Ever.

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Lady Gaga Fans Crash Servers In South African Ticket Frenzy

Posted 6/20/12 10:44 am EST by in Lady Gaga, Tour Dates

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga's "Born this Way Ball" has hit some road bumps since kicking off in South Korea in late-April. Many of the massive tour's dates in Asia were plagued by protests from Christian and Islamic groups, culminating in a particularly frightening situation in Indonesia, where an Islamic extremist organization threatened the pop superstar with violence, forcing her to cancel a sold-out show in Jakarta.

One thing the road show has not encountered is a lack of interest from fans. Each of the 16 Asian shows that did go forward sold out, and in less than two months, the tour has already pulled in a staggering $45 million.

Gaga will be able to add two shows in South Africa to her sell-out list … just as soon as the ticketseller gets its website back up and running after a deluge of Little Monsters crashed it. Less than 24 hours after the "Bad Romance" diva announced plans to play concerts in Johannesburg on November 30 and Cape Town on December 3, fans rushed web retailer Computicket so hard that servers shut down after being overwhelmed by traffic.

"Just woke up to emails saying South African monsters crashed the online ticket servers due to high demand for The Btw Ball! I can't believe it," Gaga tweeted late yesterday (June 19).

Computicket promises it is working to rectify the problem.

Gaga is currently in Australia, with the first of three shows at Sydney's Allphones Arena planned for tonight. The star also happily reported earlier today that she is just fine after suffering a concussion during a concert in Auckland, New Zealand when a dancer accidentally hit her with a set piece mid-song (and she kept right on performing after).

"Went for an MRI. No harm from the concussion but it appears my brain is just water and a large floating jellyfish," she joked on Twitter.

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Lady Gaga's Competition: Four Of The Best Celebrity Scents

Posted 6/18/12 8:00 am EST by in Beyonce, Diddy, Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga, Twitter

By Meredith Goldberg-Morse

Lady Gaga just released images of her new perfume, "Fame," on Twitter, a few days after a Canadian fashion magazine editor leaked photos of the bottle. The singer expressed her frustration with the situation, tweeting, "Looks like photos of my perfume are being leaked. Oh you fashion editors I could just crinkle my hands at you!" along with Instragram photos of both the bottle and its packaging. The bottle, which resembles gold talons grasping a glass egg, is filled with an alarmingly dark liquid that will spray on clear.

We’re happy to report that the fragrance includes neither blood nor semen. The singer instead went with a well-balanced blend of pulverized apricot, crushed heart of tiger orchidea, essence of saffron and honey drops as well as mysterious components "black veil of incense" and "tears of belladonna."

The megastar, whose scent will be available for purchase later this summer, is not the first celebrity to create a perfume and certainly will not be the last. The following successful perfumers are proof that people really do want the chance to smell like their favorite celebs.

Read More...

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Lady Gaga Poses As Marilyn Monroe To Celebrate The Late Icon's Birthday

Posted 6/1/12 8:52 am EST by in Lady Gaga, Tweet Beat

On what would have been her 86th birthday, Lady Gaga wished the late, great Marilyn Monroe a happy birthday the best way she knows how – by styling herself up with Monroe's signature big blonde curls and posting the image on her Twitter.

"#HappyBirthdayMarilyn They'll never take our blonde hair and lipstick," Gaga tweeted along with a black and white image of herself topless with barrel curls and dark lips, a look Monroe pioneered during her 1950s heyday.

Lady Gaga, Twitter

Nearly 50 years after her tragic death, Monroe's influence is still felt all over our popular culture. From photo shoot recreations to award-winning performances, Monroe – who was born Norma Jeane Mortensen Baker on June 1, 1926 – remains a stylistic gold standard and a major influence on today's stars. Everyone from Rihanna, Michelle Williams and Gaga to Christina Aguilera, Angelina Jolie and Madonna have sported her looks in pictures, music videos and films.

Gaga is currently in Asia on her "Born This Way Ball" tour, where she is apparently having trouble indulging in one of her favorite hobbies – buying costume jewelry from TV shopping networks. Luckily she has the Internet.

"Laying in bed looking at costume jewelry online. Only thing difficult about being on the road. NO QVC!!! Home Shopping Network where r you!" the pop diva tweeted early this morning. "don't judge me if 35 years from now I have a clothing line like Liza. sort of a suppressed dream. I WANT TO SELL VELOUR and sparkly CHARMS!"

Gaga recently added yet another Twitter milestone to her already-impressive social media cap – she now has 25 million followers, more than any other person on Twitter.

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Lady Gaga Responds To Religious Protests With Emotional Speech During Manila Concert (Video)

Posted 5/22/12 3:24 pm EST by in Concerts, Gay Rights, Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga has had a rough couple of weeks. What should have been a celebratory kick-off to her "Born This Way Ball" has been marred in controversy, as the pop superstar has encountered protests from religious groups at nearly every turn.

The tour's first show in Seoul, South Korea, was marred by protests from Christian groups saying Mother Monster was "obscene" and could "taint" young people with her performance. The protestors even managed to get the Korea Media Rating Board to elevate the age rating for the concert from 12 to 18, prohibiting minors from seeing the show.

She encountered similar troubles in the Philippines, where her May 21 and 22 concerts in Manila were met with similar derision from Christian groups claiming her lyrics are blasphemous and that the sentiment behind songs like "Born this Way" promotes "promiscuity" and homosexuality. A few days before the first concert, anti-riot police were forced to stop hundreds of protestors from descending on the venue. Gaga responded to the hubbub today on Twitter, saying, "And don't worry, if I get thrown in jail in Manila, Beyonce will just bail me out. Sold out night 2 in the Philippines. I love it here!"

Then there is her planned June 3 show in Indonesia, which is entirely different animal in that the show is courting not only protests and governmental interference, but Gaga is being threatened with violence by radical Islamic groups in the country. "The Jakarta situation is 2-fold: Indonesian authorities demand I censor the show & religious extremist separately, are threatening violence," Gaga tweeted earlier today.

She's responded briefly on the controversies on Twitter, but now the pop star finally addressed the controversy at length. During her concert today in Manila, Gaga spoke to the audience about the protests, saying, "I just feel like, you know, so many people have been protesting and it really doesn't bother me truly because I know that there has to be change, but for all those kids all over the world that take their lives when they're so young because they feel bullied or they're afraid because they're gay and they don't want to tell anybody, don't you think that some of us should stand up and say the god**n truth?"

Read on to see the video and read Gaga's in-concert statement in full. Read More...

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'Simpsons' Producer Reveals Details Of Anticipated Lady Gaga Episode

Posted 5/18/12 11:32 am EST by in Lady Gaga, Simpsons

Photo Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

On Sunday night (May 20), "The Simpsons" will conclude its 23rd (!) season with a hotly awaited episode that features Lady Gaga's visit to Springfield.

The buzz around the show is huge, and everyone is talking about exactly what she'll be up to when she visits one of TV's most famous families … as well as her cartoon iteration's staggering 18 costume changes. Once our pals over at MTV Style caught wind of her character's many different looks, they couldn't help but reach out to the show to see what it was like to work with one of pop's biggest names and how they came up with the many ensembles – some of which mirror things she's worn in the past (see the meat dress above) and others that are original to the show, including a cool heel-within-a-heel look.

MTV Style talked to one of the show's legendary writer-producers, Al Jean, to get the scoop on Gaga, and the insider had nothing but love for the "Born This Way" pop diva. "She was really excited about the whole thing," Jean told MTV Style. "After she signed on to do it, she came in to record dialogue twice, and we showed her a rough cut the second time. She seemed thrilled."

Check out the full interview over at Style to hear about Gaga's many looks, how they were developed and which "Simpsons" characters get a Gaga makeover!

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Lady Gaga's Tea Cup Snags £47,000 At Auction For Charity

Posted 5/8/12 11:38 am EST by in Charity, Lady Gaga

By Elizabeth Lancaster (@lizzydl)

Little Monsters all want a piece of Lady Gaga, and it seems like they will settle for any bit of her ... even her dirty dishes.

>> Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way Ball' Stage Biggest Ever Built To Tour

On May 6, the pop star put her very own blue-and-white tea cup up for auction on Yahoo! Japan Auctions to raise money for artists that were affected by the 2011 tsunami that devastated parts of the country. The tiny tea cup brought in an astonishing £47,000 to help these artists study abroad.

>> Lady Gaga Giving Away 'Monster Pit Key' To Hardcore Fan At Each Tour Stop

Gaga recently brought her "Born This Way Ball" to the continent, and is currently in Tokyo for three more shows following several dates in Hong Kong. As usual, she made sure to keep her Little Monsters in the loop, tweeting early this morning, "On my way to TOKYO!!! I'm so excited I'm gonna sit by the pilot on the planes and ask him to go faster!! *are we there yet*"

>> Lady Gaga And Britney Spears Tweet Love For Each Other

What would you like to see her auction off next? And for which charity? Let us know in the comments below!

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Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way Ball' Stage Biggest Ever Built To Tour

Posted 5/2/12 10:29 am EST by in Lady Gaga, Tour Dates

Lady Gaga's "Born This Way Ball" launched with a controversial bang last week when the pop diva took the stage at Seoul, South Korea's Olympic Stadium in front of 45,000 screaming fans.

All of those fans were adults, as we reported earlier, because the Korea Media Rating Board elevated the age rating for the concert from 12 to 18, prohibiting minors from seeing the show. The Board did not offer a reason why the show – which at the time of the imposed age restriction was still in rehearsals and has not been reviewed publicly – was considered unsuitable for children under 18.

Later, as the concert neared, the likely catalyst for the board's decision came more into focus as protests from a group of conservative Christians calling itself the Alliance for Sound Culture in Sexuality ramped up. The group papered Seoul with posters accusing Gaga of "spreading unhealthy sexual culture" through "lewd lyrics and performances."

So there's that.

The news today though is that her elaborate stage is the "largest scenic structure that's ever been built to tour," according to US Weekly. The stage, designed by Gaga and her creative team Haus of Gaga, took several months to construct and includes an enclosed area surrounded by a catwalk known as "The Monster Pit," a general admission area for hardcore fans who arrive early to the show. The very first Little Monster to arrive is given a commemorative key for the pit. The stage is modeled after a Gothic castle featuring viewing towers, intricate carvings and other medieval trappings.

Check it out below:

Are you loving Mother Monster's amazing stage? Let us know in the comments below!

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