Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Meredith Clark

Lady Gaga welcomes new puppy three years after harrowing dog theft incident

TikTok/Lady Gaga

Support truly
independent journalism

Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.

Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.

Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.

Louise Thomas

Louise Thomas

Editor

Lady Gaga has welcomed a new member to her family.

The pop star, 38, debuted her new French bulldog puppy in a TikTok video posted on August 21. Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, showed off the gray and white dog as she lip-synced over her new song with Bruno Mars, “Die with a Smile.”

The “Paparazzi” singer filmed herself wearing Harley Quinn-style makeup – bright red lipstick, blue eyeshadow, and black eyeliner – in honor of her upcoming film, Joker: Folie a Deux, as she held the tiny French bulldog in her hand.

The pup had a grayish-brown body with a white stomach, a light brown snout, and eyebrow-shaped spots over its eyes. Its sweet, oversized ears were also on full display in the video. While Lady Gaga didn’t reveal the dog’s name in the video, she captioned the TikTok with a simple snowflake emoji.

In the comments section, one fan asked whether the French bulldog was “a new addition to the family,” to which Lady Gaga responded with a pink heart emoji and a crying face emoji. When influencer Dylan Mulvaney commented, “Need to meet them immediately,” the Grammy winner wrote back: “Our new Queen.”

Lady Gaga has been a longtime lover of French bulldogs. The “Poker Face” singer, who recently confirmed her engagement to partner Michael Polansky, is already a dog mother to three Frenchies: Miss Asia, Koji, and Gustav.

Her newly adopted puppy comes three years after her two French bulldogs, Koji and Gustav, were stolen in Los Angeles while her dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was shot four times in the chest. In February 2021, Lady Gaga offered a reward of $500,000 for the dogs’ safe return, saying her “heart [was] sick” over the theft and describing Fischer as “forever a hero.”

After they were returned unharmed, five people were arrested in connection with the theft of Lady Gaga’s dogs. Three of the people charged – James Jackson, Jaylin White, and Lafayette Whaley – faced one count each of attempted murder and robbery, while Harold White and Jennifer McBride were each charged with one count of accessory attempted murder, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Jackson was sentenced to 21 years in prison, while White was sentenced to four years. McBride also pled no contest to the charge of receiving stolen property and was sentenced to two years probation. Meanwhile, Fischer revealed that he ended up having to have part of his lung removed before being released from the hospital.

Most recently, McBride – who “found the dogs” two days after they were stolen – filed a lawsuit against Lady Gaga in February 2023 for not giving her the $500,000 reward that she had promised. In October that year, a Los Angeles County judge ruled that McBride had “unclean hands” and was “not entitled” to the reward money.

The judge added that McBride’s complaint was “legally insufficient in its entirety” due to her “involvement in the theft,” and she was “not entitled to thereafter benefit from their wrongdoing by seeking to enforce the contract.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.