By Dahvi Shira - People Magazine
Weird Al Yankovic was thrilled when he came up with a parody idea for Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," off her forthcoming album of the same name, due out May 23.
Only problem? He says Gaga, 25, apparently wasn't having it.
"Gaga decided not to give me permission to release the song," he wrote in a blog post titled "The Gaga Saga" on Wednesday.
Yankovic, 51, isn't keeping his version under lock and key, either. Instead, he made the tune, which lovingly skewers the singer and her outré style, available on his blog (listen to it above), while also explaining his side of the story.
"I was really kinda predisposed not to do a Lady Gaga parody anyway because, well, that's what everybody in the universe was already assuming I would do," he wrote. "And I hate to be predictable." (The song has already been covered by Katy Perry.)
But after coming up with the "pop culture juggernaut I had been waiting for," Yankovic reached out to Gaga for approval.
Her team reportedly told him she needed to hear the full song before signing off, so the musician cut short his family vacation and recorded it. Plus, he pledged to donate all proceeds to the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT advocacy group.
But according to a TMZ.com report, this is all news to the singer.
"There must of been a misunderstanding because [Gaga] is in no way trying to block the release of the parody," a source told TMZ. "She's busy touring and hasn't heard the song yet. Her manager hasn't had a chance to play it for her yet. She's a huge Weird Al fan."
A rep for Gaga wasn't immediately available for comment.
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Originally Posted by Hal-9000
