Lady Gaga Not Obligated to Pay $500,000 Reward for Stolen Dogs
A US judge has ruled that Lady Gaga is not required to pay a $500,000 reward to Jennifer McBride, a woman who helped return her stolen dogs in 2021. McBride had sued the star for the reward as well as $1.5 million in damages.
The judge’s decision stems from McBride’s role in returning Lady Gaga’s dogs, which ultimately led to her conviction for receiving stolen goods. McBride argued that she was merely ensuring the safe return of the bulldogs.
McBride’s lawyer contended that Lady Gaga had breached the contract and committed fraud by not paying the promised reward. However, Judge Holly J. Fujie’s ruling this week stated that McBride could not benefit from her wrongdoing by seeking to enforce the contract.
The incident occurred in February 2021 when Ryan Fischer, walking Lady Gaga’s three French bulldogs in Hollywood, was shot in the chest in a violent attack. He survived but required part of his lung to be removed. In December of the same year, James Howard Jackson was sentenced to 21 years in prison for attempted murder in connection with the shooting.
Jackson and his accomplices stole two of the dogs, Koji and Gustav, after the attack. The third dog, Miss Asia, managed to escape and was later found by the police. Two days after the theft, Lady Gaga offered a $500,000 reward for the return of her dogs.
Jennifer McBride and four others were arrested in April 2021, with McBride being charged as an accessory to attempted murder. In December, she reached a plea deal to have that charge dropped and pleaded no contest to receiving stolen property, resulting in a two-year probation sentence.
McBride asserted that she had not been involved in the theft but had taken Lady Gaga’s pets with the sole purpose of ensuring their protection and safe return. However, Lady Gaga’s legal team argued that this explanation “makes no sense.”
The judge’s decision supports a previous ruling, emphasising that McBride’s actions prevent her from profiting from the situation due to her “unclean hands.”
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