Lady Gaga does not have to pay a US$500,000 reward to a woman who returned her dogs after they were stolen in 2021, a US judge has ruled.
Jennifer McBride previously sued the star for the "no questions asked" reward, plus US$1.5m in damages.
In February 2021, Ryan Fischer was walking Lady Gaga's three French bulldogs in Hollywood when he was shot in the chest in what the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office called "a cold-hearted violent act".
Last December, James Howard Jackson was sentenced to 21 years in prison for attempted murder.
Jackson and his accomplices took two of the dogs, Koji and Gustavto, following the shooting. A third, Miss Asia, ran away and was later found by police.
The two stolen dogs were returned unharmed by Ms McBride two days later after Gaga offered the reward.
Ms McBride was arrested along with four others in April 2021, and was charged with being an accessory to attempted murder.
The judge has now upheld a previous ruling, saying Ms McBride cannot claim the reward because she "has unclean hands that prevent her from profiting from her actions".
Source: BBC
