Lady Gaga sued for plagiarism over ‘Born This Way’ facial modifications
By Will Stroude
She’s often cited the art world as inspiration for her off-the-wall looks, but Lady Gaga is now being accused of plagiarising the work of another artist for her ‘Born This Way’ campaign back in 2011.
The album’s artwork and video for its lead single memorably featured an array of seemingly sub-dermal facial modifications – something which French artist Orlan claims was ripped off directly from her own work.
Orlan, who has been renowned for experimenting with her own – very much real – facial modifications since the 1990s, filed the original lawsuit against the American Horror Story star in Paris back in 2013. She is seeking 7.5% of the profits form Gaga’s second studio album – a figure which works out at an estimated $31.7 million.
Though the suit was filed over two years ago, Page Six reports that Orlan’s lawyers have now moved to depose several member’s of Gaga’s creative team, including fashion guru Nicola Formichetti and makeup artist Billy Brasfield, about the inspiration the Applause singer’s look.
“Whether in France or in the United States, Orlan’s unique artwork should be protected,” Orlan’s US lawyers state. “We hope that questioning members of Lady Gaga’s creative team will aid the French court in deciding the case.”
It’s not the first time that Gaga has been accused of treading a little to closely to another artist’s existing work, but a representative for the singer has already dismissed the lawsuit and its recent developments as “meritless”.
“This is nothing but an attempt by the plaintiff to generate US press coverage around a meritless case that was filed in France several years ago”, a spokesperson said.
Do you agree with Orlan’s claims? Watch the video for Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ and decide for yourself below:
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