Back in 2021, Lady Gaga‘s French bulldogs were stolen and her dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was shot in the chest. (Thankfully, he survived.) At the time of the dognapping, Gaga tweeted that she’d pay a $500,000 reward to whoever returned the dogs, but evidently the woman who did so was involved in the theft. Now, Gaga has taken legal action to ensure the woman never gets the reward.
The day that Gaga tweeted about the reward, the woman, Jennifer McBride, brought the two dogs to the Los Angeles Police Department and said she’d just happened to find them and didn’t know who they belonged to. That turned out to be a lie, as McBride knew the dognappers and knew what they’d done.
Still, McBride sued Gaga for the reward money, claiming breach of contract because Gaga had offered it “no questions asked.”
Now, according to a legal document posted on the Law & Crime website, Gaga has filed a motion challenging the basis of McBride’s lawsuit and essentially asking that it be dismissed on the grounds that McBride isn’t entitled to the reward money.
“The law does not allow a person to commit a crime and then profit from it,” says the filing from Lady Gaga’s lawyer, Greta Williams.
“Plaintiff was convicted for her participation in the conspiracy to steal Defendant’s dogs, so she cannot now recover [funds] under a purported contract for the return of those same stolen dogs,” the filing says.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for July 10. Meanwhile, one of the robbers, who pleaded guilty to attempted murder, is currently serving 21 years in prison.
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