London
(ANI):
'Poker
Face" singer
Lady
Gaga
has
filed
a
countersuit
against
her
former
mentor,
producer
Rob
Fusari,
claiming
in
it
that
he
took
advantage
of
her
naivety
as
a
wannabe
pop
star.
Fusari,
who
became
romantically
involved
with
Gaga,
signed
a
production
deal
with
the
singer
in
2006
and
claims
to
have
come
up
with
her
stage
name,
reports
the
Daily
Express.
He
also
maintains
he
was
instrumental
in
landing
her
a
deal
with
record
label
Interscope,
and
held
a
20
per
cent
share
in
his
company
with
Gaga,
Team
Love
Child
LLC.
But
he
filed
suit
against
her
in
New
York
last
week,
accusing
her
of
failing
to
adequately
compensate
him
for
his
shares
in
the
firm
once
she
gained
worldwide
recognition.
But
Gaga"s
lawyer,
Charles
Ortner,
has
blasted
the
allegations,
claiming
the
pair"s
agreement
was
“structured
in
such
a
way
as
to
mask
its
true
purpose
-
to
provide
to
the
defendants
unlawful
compensation
for
their
services
as
unlicensed
employment
agents".
On
March
19,
they
took
their
argument
to
the
Manhattan
Supreme
Court
to
ask
a
judge
to
declare
Gaga"s
contract
with
Fusari
“void
and
unenforceable" amid
claims
he
acted
as
an
“unlawful
employment
agent",
violating
various
laws
designed
to
protect
employees
such
as
“inexperienced
recording
artists".
According
to
the
New
York
Post,
Fusari"s
attorney
Robert
S.
Meloni
hit
back
at
the
countersuit,
dismissing
Gaga"s
lawyer"s
argument
as
“one
of
the
most
ridiculous
I"ve
heard
in
30
years" because
the
producer
never
pitched
himself
as
a
talent
agent.