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Lady Gaga Sued over 'We Pray for Japan' Wristbands
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- Published on Monday, 27 June 2011 09:16
Lady Gaga, who was in the Land of the Rising Sun for the country’s MTV Video Music Awards and who got involved in helping the victims of the catastrophes that hit the country back in March by selling a set of custom-made 'We Pray for Japan' wristbands to raise money for charity, is sued for allegedly increasing shipping costs so she could keep a certain percentage of the proceeds.
Apparently, to the $5 price of said bracelets the singer allegedly added $3.99 for shipping and 60 cents for taxes in order to profit from the charitable venture, which prompted a law firm to take legal action against her.
“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,” Ari Kresch, a lawyer with the Michigan-based 1-800-LAW-FIRM, says.
Alyson Oliver, also with the aforementioned law firm, says they’ve contacted Gaga’s representatives but received no clarification as to how much money the singer actually makes from the sales of the bracelets.
“When you use your celebrity and your power as a musician to take money from people under false pretences, that's just wrong,” Oliver says. “When we tried to communicate with the defendants in this lawsuit, all we got was, 'Well, some of the money is being retained, but we don't really know how much', is the essence of the response that we got. If the money were going to the right place rather than into the defendant's pocket, then I hope that our effort helps that.”
It is alleged that Gaga, who is selling the 'We Pray for Japan' wristbands on her website, has violated consumer protection laws in all US states. What’s more, some fans have even complained that they have not yet received their wristbands. (Photo via Celebrity News)