eon Magazine, the publication that made headlines earlier this month with its feature on Beyonce and an alleged pre-marital contract is stepping up by not only firing the writer but, sending an open apology to the star.
In the article, which was published on blogs including theYBF.com earlier this year, a writer is said to have falsified an interview with Beyonce, making it appear as though the singer confirmed that she had Jay-Z under a contract..
"I do not deny that there is a marriage contract. I would encourage any woman getting married to put on such a treaty, it will gain more influence on self-esteem. I believe that in my relationship with Jay-Z, as in any genuine relationship ,not everything is easy. I want children not now, later. He’s entirely not aware of that fact yet. I want to sit around at home, also times in a tracksuit pants. He assumes and believes that women even wear high heels just to go to the bathroom." -- excerpt from NEON.
In a letter released late Thursday, Neon apologizes for the article, stating "We do have serious doubts in the truth of many statements of the interview of Ms. Beyonce Knowles published in NEON, Issue January/2010...The article was written by the freelancer Ingo Mecek. The editors-in-Chief have confronted Ingo Mocek with these doubts. Ingo Mocek was not able to verify certain statements, particularly the statements regarding a marriage contract of Ms. Knowles. There, we assume that the interview did not take place as claimed by Ingo Mocek."
"NEON dissociates itself from the content of the interview with Ms. Knowles. NEON subscribes to a high level standard of truthful journalism. Since Ingo Mocek has violated these standards serverely, NEON has terminated all relationships with Inco Mocek with immediate effect," Neon goes on to state. "We sincerely apologize to Ms. Knowles and her management for all personal inconvenience that may have arisen due to the publication of this interview."
Singersroom opted not to publish excerpts of the interview when it was first released.
Beyonce has not commented on the interview or whether it actually took place
NEW YORK — A songwriter and music producer who claims he helped launch pop star Lady Gaga says she squeezed him out of her lucrative career after he co-wrote some of her songs, came up with her stage name and helped get her record deal.
Rob Fusari filed a $30.5 million lawsuit against the Grammy Award-winning performer, saying his protege and former girlfriend ditched him as her career soared.
"All business is personal," said the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a Manhattan state court.
Lady Gaga's spokesman, Dave Tomberlin, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail sent Thursday by The Associated Press.
Fusari had credits on such hits as Will Smith's "Wild, Wild West" and
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Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious" when a friend steered the piano-playing singer – then known by her real name, Stefani Germanotta – to him in March 2006, according to his lawsuit.
Though he initially dismissed her, he realized she had star potential after hearing her play in his Parsippany, New Jersey, studio, the suit said. He spent the next several months working with her every day and "radically reshaping her approach," persuading her to drop rock riffs for dance beats, it said.
As they co-wrote songs such as "Paparazzi" and "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich," which would appear on her debut album, "The Fame," he transformed Germanotta into Lady Gaga, a name adapted from Queen's "Radio Ga Ga," the lawsuit said.
In a 2009 interview with the AP, Lady Gaga said her "realization of Gaga was five years ago, but Gaga's always been who I am."
"I was Gaga from the time that I was 19 through my first record deal," the 23-year-old said of her over-the-top, avant-garde style, which has captured the imaginations of millions of fans. "I always dressed like that before people knew me as Lady Gaga. I was always that way ... I stuck out like a sore thumb."
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According to the lawsuit, Lady Gaga and Fusari's relationship turned romantic and then became a business partnership in May 2006, when they created a joint venture called Team Love Child LLC to promote her career. Fusari's share was 20 percent, it said.
Fusari – whose account of his role in the multiplatinum-selling artist's early career has been told in interviews – says he introduced Lady Gaga to a record executive who ultimately shepherded her to Universal Music Group's Interscope Records, which released "The Fame" in 2008. The album has sold more than 3 million copies in the United States; Fusari has a producing credit.
But the lawsuit says their personal and business relationship had soured by then and he has been denied a 20 percent share of song royalties, 15 percent of merchandising revenue and other money he's owed. He acknowledges getting checks for about $611,000 but says that isn't his full share.
Lady Gaga won two Grammys in January: best dance recording, for "Poker Face," and best electronic/dance album, for "The Fame."
“The video in a lot of ways is more about her even than it is about me. It was sort of a pop-art venture for me to bring her into my world in a way, the video is an attempt for her and I to erase pop music as we know it up until this very point. It’s meant to change the perspective of the world on what a pop music video should be and she’s kind of the vehicle for that. In reality, more people around the world are familiar with her aesthetics than they are with mine. It was something for me to kind of change the way that you see her for one video.”
