US singer and actress Lady Gaga (36) is being sued by the dog thief's accomplice Jennifer McBride for refusing to pay the $500,000 reward she received in February 2021 for returning the two French bulldogs had promised. McBride says the artist made it clear that she would pay the person returning her dogs $500,000 "no questions asked."

As "TMZ" further reports, the plaintiff also wants compensation because Lady Gaga suspended the misleading reward. In total, she is said to be demanding $1.5 million (about €1.4 million).

The star's puppies, Koji and Gustav, were stolen at gunpoint from their dog walker Ryan Fischer in Los Angeles. According to the report, several men stopped next to Fischer, jumped out of the car, grabbed the puppies and shot him in the process. Fischer was out with all three of the pop star's dogs, but the attackers only took two of them. Neighbors found the man who had been shot on the sidewalk. He survived his injuries.

L.A. County Assistant District Attorney Michele Hanisee told the news portal McBride knew the puppies had been stolen when she brought them back. Her intention was to receive the reward. Also, she had known the men involved in the shooting for years. She is said to have been with the father of one of the men responsible for the crime.

McBride had returned the 'American Horror Story' actress' dogs to the LAPD's Olympic Community Station two days after they were stolen. She was later charged with receiving stolen goods and aiding and abetting in connection with the dogs.

The man who shot Fischer, James Howard Jackson, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for attempted murder.