Via THE DAILY BEAST Producer Rob Fusari is suing the pop princess, claiming they had a relationship and that he was the creative mastermind behind her success and should be paid millions. Jacob Bernstein on their bad romance.
How much do international celebrities owe the people who discover them?
That is the question at the heart of producer Rob Fusari’s lawsuit against his former protégée and girlfriend Stefani Germanotta, otherwise known as Lady Gaga. According to a claim filed in New York State Supreme Court last week, Fusari plucked Germanotta from obscurity when she was floundering on the Lower East Side. From there, he steered her career, transformed her from wannabe Fiona Apple to future queen of the dance charts, became her boyfriend, started a company with her that entitled him to 20 percent of her overall earnings, got her the record deal that would make her a star, and then was discarded almost as soon as the relationship between them went south.
"New York is a contract state," says lawyer Eddie Hayes. "You signed it, you’re stuck with it. They agreed to pay him, they have to. In the end, they’ll settle."
The claim has sent shockwaves through the music industry, as the 42-year-old Fusari, far from being some sort of bottom-feeding talent scout or has been, is fairly well-regarded in the business. He may not be a producing superstar like Timbaland or David Foster, but he has worked for Destiny’s Child, Jessica Simpson, Montell Jordan, and Will Smith. To read the rest of this story visit The Daily Beast. Photo: Fame Pictures
