Lady Gaga sued over Japan relief wristbands

A lawsuit alleging that Lady Gaga misrepresented how funds received from sales of her Japanese earthquake relief wristbands would be allocated raised a few eyebrows on Monday, and now Gaga is speaking out against it.

In a statement, the superstar singer – who's visited Tokyo in an effort to boost tourism – called the suit “misguided” and “without merit.”

Attorneys from the Michigan based 1-800-Law-Firm filed a complaint in Michigan last Friday, alleging that Gaga and affiliated companies haven’t been transparent about where donated funds were going. Proceeds from the Gaga-designed wristbands sold were advertised as going solely to relief efforts, which the suit claims is misleading.

The complaint, available for perusal here, alleges that “a portion of the first five dollars of each donation" was kept by Gaga and those affiliated with the project, in addition to keeping a portion of shipping costs and taxes.

In her statement, Gaga denies keeping a cut of funds raised from wristband sales.

“Unfortunately,” she says, the suit “takes attention away from the kind deeds of the fans around the world who are supporting the people of Japan. “The entire $5 donation made with the purchase of each bracelet is going to support the disaster relief. No profit is being made on shipping costs. Sales tax charges were made in accordance with local legal requirements.”

The statement concludes, “Lady Gaga has personally pledged her own funds to this cause and continues to support the victims of the disaster."

(Via the Marquee Blog)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sunny von Bulow dies after 28 years in coma

Image
After spending nearly 28 years in an irreversible coma, heiress and socialite Martha "Sunny" von Bulow died Saturday in a New York nursing home, according to a family statement. She was 76. Von Bulow was subject of one of the nation's most sensational criminal cases during the 1980s. Her husband, Claus, was accused of trying to kill her with an overdose of insulin, which prosecutors alleged sent her into the coma. He was convicted of making two attempts on her life, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. He was acquitted in a second trial. His retrial in 1985 received national attention. (Via CNN )
Read more

Ric Alonso resigns from pageant association after porn revelation

Image
Kevin Hogan wasn't the only person this week ambushed out of a job for his participation in the gay adult film industry. FOX News reports : Ric Alonso and his partner of 21 years, Ernie Koneck, have both been both prominent power players in the Southern California Scholarship Association — an incorporated not-for-profit association — which produces the Miss Hollywood pageant, an official preliminary to Miss California, and a feeder to Miss America. Alonso is listed as the first “major sponsor” for 2011 scholarship donations, while partner Koneck has been the pageantry point of contact and is featured in photographs alongside the smiling young sashed pageant contestants. On Tuesday, Alonso was exposed by RadarOnline as adult film actor and producer "Jake Cruise". FOX News adds: Following the revelation, Koneck announced his resignation Tuesday as Executive Director of the Southern California Scholarship Association, and said Alonso was in no way involved in the Miss Holl
Read more

Make Jerry Curl Great Again

Image
You can't consider yourself a writer if you don't write. In recent years, I have probably said those words to myself so often that they could be considered a mantra; a mantra that I don't want to embody but one that is nonetheless true. I don't write anymore. I don't write to faraway friends. I don't write to remember. I don't write for pleasure. I don't write for release. I don't even Tweet. At a recent job interview (for another job I didn't really want), I was asked what I would do for a living if I could do anything. Without even thinking about it, I said I would be a writer. But that was a stock answer. It's the answer I've always given to that question. But this time the answer felt phony. It felt forced. It didn't feel like me anymore. The real, ugly, scary truth is that I don't know if I still got the right stuff to be the writer I wanted to be. While I have always questioned the validity of my own voice (my
Read more