Gotham Gossipist: Lady Gaga Sued For Allegedly Scamming 'Monsters'
By Kimberly Rae Miller
There are going to be a lot of sad little monsters running around. Lady Gaga is being sued for allegedly scamming them of their hard earned money.
When a massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on March 11, causing an estimated $200 billion worth of damage, Gaga asked her fans to show their support for Japan by purchasing "We Pray for Japan" wristbands from her website, with the proceeds from the sale going to support the people affected by the disaster.
Lady Gaga, a native New Yorker, charged $5 for a wristband, another $3.99 for shipping and handling and $0.60 for tax. It was that $0.60 for tax that raised a red flag for a Michigan based law firm, 1-800-LAW-FIRM. Charitable organizations are tax-exempt, therefore if all the proceeds from the sale of the wristbands were in fact going to Japan, as Lady Gaga's website claimed, there would be no need to charge that extra few cents. When the law firm contacted Gaga's charity they were told that some of the money was being retained, but did not disclose how much of the $5 million collected was actually going toward the relief efforts.
Ari Kresch, an attorney with 1-800-LAW-FIRM, released a statement regarding the class action racketeering suit, "I'm suing Lady Gaga simply to hold her accountable for giving the money that she was raising for charity to the cause that she was trying to raise it for."
The firm doing the suing believes that Gaga's charity inflated the shipping costs and pocketed the tax and excess shipping money.
Our hometown girl has yet to make a formal statement about the lawsuit, or the allegations being made against her. In the meantime, if you're looking to help the people of Japan, I hear the Red Cross and UNICEF don't charge tax on your donation.
Kimberly Rae Miller is a writer, actress, and host living in New York City (kimberlyraemiller.com).
