Producer sues Lady GaGa for $35m

A songwriter and producer who claims to have helped launch Lady GaGa's career has filed a $35 million (£23 million) lawsuit against her.

Rob Fusari acknowledges receiving cheques totalling $611,000 for his work but believes he is entitled to more - namely a 20% share of royalties, 15% of merchandising and other money owed under previous agreements, The AP reports.

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in a Manhattan state court, reads: "All business is personal." It suggests that after their first meeting, Fusari spent months working with GaGa every day, persuading her to alter her sound from guitars to dance beats and "radically reshaping her approach".

Fusari co-wrote the songs 'Paparazzi' and 'Beautiful, Dirty, Rich' on the award-winning album The Fame and has claimed that he is responsible for transforming Stefani Germanotta into Lady Gaga.

The lawsuit also suggests that Fusari's relationship with GaGa became romantic and argues that they created Team Love Child LLC May 2006 to promote her career, with his share in the joint venture reportedly being 20%.

Lady GaGa's spokesman Dave Tomberlin did not immediately respond to an email sent by The AP.

Fusari has previously revealed that he was underwhelmed by Lady GaGa when they first met in March 2006, but was soon won over when he heard her sing.

Last month, Fusari accused Beyoncé of falsely taking the credit for the idea of using a Stevie Nicks riff on the Destiny's Child single 'Bootylicious', which he had co-written.