An ex-boyfriend of Lady Gaga is reportedly suing her for $30.5 million.
Songwriter and music producer Rob Fusari filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan court on Wednesday (March 17). In the filed papers, Fusari says that he discovered singer Stefani Germanotta (Gaga’s birth name) when she sang in his New Jersey studio back in March 2006.
Fusari claims he saw future stardom in Germanotta, and over the next several months worked with her daily and “radically reshaped her approach.” He says that it was he that helped her get a record deal that she currently has today.
Fusari co-wrote songs on her debut album The Fame (“Paparazzi” and “Beautiful Dirty Rich”), and says that it was he that suggested she take the stage name Lady Gaga. But Gaga claims that she came up with the Gaga persona herself.
The two were in a romantic relationship, but they also created a joint business venture to promote her career. Fusari says the deal was that he would get 20 percent of profits.
The lawsuit says that their romantic and professional partnership quickly deteriorated as she became famous, and he claims that he has been denied an agreed-upon 20 percent of song royalties and 15 percent of merchandising revenue. And he’s received $611,000 so far.
No word from Lady Gaga or any reps.