New
York
(ANI):
HLN"s
'Showbiz
Tonight'
has
declared
Lady
Gaga
as
its
'Most
Provocative
Celebrity
of
The
Year'.
The
Starr
Report
has
learned
that
Gaga
bested
finalists
Charlie
Sheen,
Mel
Gibson,
Lindsay
Lohan
and
Miley
Cyrus
for
the
highly
coveted
honor,
bestowed
each
year
by
the
popular
entertainment
show
anchored
by
AJ
Hammer
and
Brooke
Anderson.
“The
key
was
that
the
mention
of
Lady
Gaga"s
name
sparks
a
visceral
reaction," the
New
York
Post
quoted
the
show"s
executive
producer
David
Levine
as
saying.
“And
she"s
had
the
most
continued
interest
among
all
the
nominees.
She
became
the
first
person
to
reach
1
billion
[views]
on
YouTube
and
she
has
6
million
followers
on
Twitter.
“She"s
given
passionate
speeches
at
the
Don"t
Ask,
Don"t
Tell
rally
in
Portland
[Maine]
and
her
plea
to
end
bullying
had
an
impact.
She
also
revealed
that
she
has
Lupus
and
then
there
was
'the
finger"
incident
at
the
Mets
game.
She
also
has
a
hit
album.
Her
reach
is
immeasurable,"
Levine
said.
Levine
said
roughly
40
HLN
and
CNN
staffers
vote
on
the
'Most
Provocative
Celebrity
of
the
Year' selection
and
only
four
votes
went
for
Lohan.
“The
day
before
we
voted,
it
was
down
to
Lohan
and
Charlie
Sheen.
It
was
a
little
obvious
and
I
sent
out
a
note
to
everyone
telling
them
it
was
their
last
opportunity
[to
nominate
someone],"
he
said.
“Somebody
threw
Lady
Gaga"s
name
into
the
ranks;
we
hadn"t
really
discussed
her...and
when
we
told
AJ
and
Brooke,
they
were
like,
'That"s
a
no-brainer,"" Levine
added.
Britney
Spears
snared
the
honor
in
2006
and
2007,
with
Sarah
Palin
winning
in
2008
and
Jon
Gosselin
in
2009.