Comedian claims Gaga's people initially denied him the right to release his parody 'Perform This Way.'
By Gil Kaufman
Lady Gaga
Photo: Jemal Countess/ Getty Images
The great "Weird Al" Yankovic-Lady Gaga standoff of 2011 appears to be over. After the song parody king wrote a lengthy blog on Wednesday complaining that Gaga's people had denied his request to release his stinging "Perform This Way" cover of Gaga's "Born This Way," he updated the situation later in the day and said it was a big misunderstanding.
"After putting my Lady Gaga parody on YouTube this morning — and announcing that it wouldn't be on my next album because Gaga didn't approve it — there was a huge outpouring of disappointment from the Internet," Yankovic wrote. "Apparently the fact that she didn't approve it was news to Lady Gaga herself! Gaga's manager has now admitted that he never forwarded my parody to Gaga — she had no idea at all. Even though we assumed that Gaga herself was the one making the decision (because, well, that's what we were TOLD), he apparently made the decision completely on his own."
Though a spokesperson for Gaga had not returned requests for comment at press time, Yankovic said the singer's manager has apologized to him for the mix-up and noted that apparently Mother Monster "loves the song."
Yankovic's songs are legally protected by fair-use laws, but he has made a point of getting approval from the artists he is parodying before releasing his songs, including Michael Jackson, R.E.M., AC/DC, Madonna and Chamillionaire, who sang the praises of Al's "White & Nerdy" take on "Ridin'."
Citing an unnamed source "extremely close" to the singer, TMZ reported that "there must have been a misunderstanding because [Gaga] is in no way trying to block the release of the parody." Other unnamed sources added, "she's busy touring and hasn't heard the song yet. Her manager hasn't had a chance to play it for her yet ... she's a huge Weird Al fan."
Yankovic, 51, said he's thrilled the situation has been resolved because he not only respects and admires Gaga as an artist (who clearly has a "great" sense of humor), but it also means he gets to put out his new album. Proceeds from the video will go to the Human Rights Campaign.
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