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Lady Gaga's heart belongs to daddy -- and so does half her bank account. In a new profile of the pop star, the New York Post reveals that Gaga split her earnings 50/50 with her father Joe Germanotta. Given that Gaga, 25, is reportedly worth more than $100 million, that's a very generous arrangement -- one that few people in the industry can wrap their heads around.
"There's really no justifiable sense to doing a 50/50 deal with anyone in your career, other than someone you're partners in a band with," says Josh Grier, a big-time entertainment lawyer who represents acts such as Wilco and Elvis Costello. "Certainly no artist entering a management deal does anything close to that -- a commission is usually 15 to 20 percent."
Historically, the only deal similar to Gaga's was a half-century ago, between Elvis Presley and the manager who discovered him, Colonel Tom Parker. But Gaga's father isn't her manager, and doesn't really work for her, per se. However, Joe did contribute something very important to her career: a fighting chance.
When Lady Gaga was still NYU freshman Stefani Germanotta, she decided to drop out to pursue her dream of music stardom. Rather than shooting her down, her dad, a self-made businessman, agreed to finance her efforts for one year. She scored her first music contract within the year. Two years later, in 2007, her father convinced her to kick a cocaine habit once and for all. More recently, the singer explained that her dad helped her write her hit "Edge of Glory." Is it any wonder that Gaga feels she owes her father everything?
"I'm happier than I've ever been. I've been in my father's arms for two weeks wishing (him) a happy Father's Day," Gaga told Vanity Fair last September.
Gaga has paid tribute to her father again and again in her life, telling Elle that she's "married to my dad," nicknaming her best friend Matthew Williams "Dada," and even naming her male alter ego, Jo Calderone, after him. She has reportedly never gotten an apartment in the city because she wants to stay close to her parents.
And soon, for the first time, fans will get to see Gaga and Joe's one-of-a-kind relationship firsthand. For her upcoming holiday special, A Very Gaga Thanksgiving (see preview below), the "You And I" singer will bring viewers into her home to meet the family. She'll also be cooking a turkey with celebrity chef Art Smith, whom she hired when she purchased her father's favorite Manhattan restaurant for him. Come on, Gaga -- we all have to spend the holidays with our families, and you're making the rest of us look bad!
