In testimony prepared for a forthcoming court case between her and former PA Jennifer O'Neill, the multimillionaire megastar tells in her own words how she reigns as 'Queen of the Universe every day'...
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With her outrageous outfits, performances bordering on the pornographic and a love life best described as ‘alternative’, Lady Gaga has become the global pop diva one simply cannot ignore. She has raised irreverence to glamorous new heights and managed to define herself as a cultural icon, an art documentary maker, and was even billed as one of the world’s most influential people according to Time Magazine.
Now, in a landmark legal case, she is also set to redraw the rules of employment, after a ferocious spat with best friend Jennifer O’Neill, who became her personal assistant.
In testimony prepared for a forthcoming trial, the multimillionaire megastar tells in her own words how she reigns as ‘Queen of the Universe every day’ – and why no one should be paid overtime.
The court papers, obtained in full for the first time by The Mail on Sunday, show how Lady Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, argues a 9-to-5 job may last 24 hours a day but in return, staff get to sleep between Egyptian cotton sheets, eat caviar, relax on luxury yachts and ‘party all night’.
The star, 27, has submitted the expletive-filled 200-page witness statement that explains in her own words why her entourage get perks instead of cash for extra hours worked. She says: ‘It’s actually based on a bubbly, good heart. I am quite wonderful to everyone that works for me. I am going to tell you exactly what ******* happened, so that the judge can read on this transcript exactly what’s going on, which is my ex-best friend is a ******* hood rat who is suing me for money that she didn’t earn. The job was essentially a favour, and Jennifer was majorly unqualified for it.’
Jennifer O’Neill, 42, is claiming she worked 7,168 hours of unpaid overtime while being employed by the star for 13 months and is demanding £240,000, plus damages. She claims she was at Gaga’s ‘beck and call’, responsible for her ‘grunt work’ as the singer’s career took off in 2010.
O’Neill, who was paid £1,000 a week, said she often had to share a bed with the star who hated sleeping alone, had to rub the corns on her feet and was woken up because the star could not be bothered to get up to change a DVD.
The star, 27, has submitted the expletive-filled 200-page witness statement that explains in her own words why her entourage get perks instead of cash for extra hours worked...
If Gaga loses the case, due in court in New York on November 4, the verdict will have huge ramifications for entertainment-industry employees because, as Gaga herself says, ‘overtime payments are not usual in my line of work’.
A source close to the case said: ‘She thinks nothing of splashing out huge chunks of money on selfish things but when it comes to looking after her staff and paying a fair wage for their time, she is neglectful. It’s double standards. Her selfishness can be breathtaking at times.’
Here, in her own words for the first time – as well as those of her former PA – is life under Lady Gaga. . .
'You don't punch in and punch out'
ONeill, who was paid £1,000 a week, said she often had to share a bed with the star who hated sleeping alone
Personal Assistant..
We were never really on vacation. Every time she leaves an appointment, every time she walks outside, she has to be fully dressed, fully make-up’d, full hair, full everything.
Every day is a work day for her, so every day is a work day for the rest of us. There is no ‘We’re going to stay in, we’re going to sleep’. There is no, ‘Let’s put on sweatpants and go out to the movies and be girlfriends.’ It doesn’t work like that.
If she needs to get dressed, if she needs to get up, then I need to work and make sure that she has clothes on, make-up on, hair on, has drunk some water, taken her medication and had something to eat, which is every day of her life during that time.
Lady Gaga
This job is a 9-to-5 job that is spaced out throughout the day. You don’t get a schedule. You don’t get a schedule that is like you punch in and you can play ******* Tetris at your desk for four hours and then you punch out at the end of the day. This is: When I need you, you’re available.
I remember clearly calling Jennifer at three in the morning, miserably ill one night and I needed her so bad to help me. We were in the middle of London and I was like ‘I’m hanging over the toilet vomiting, please help me, I've got a headache, I’m shaking’, and, yes, I woke her up in the middle of the night, because I can’t get anyone to come help me. I wouldn't know how to call a doctor. I needed somebody to help me. If I am sick and need someone to arrange a doctor or put a cold compress on my head, I view that as work, sure.