Lady Gaga's Longtime Friend Files Lawsuit To Cash In On Success

Wendy Starland, longtime friend of Lady Gaga aka Stefani Germanotta, says that she is responsible for the singer's success and deserves thousands of dollars in back pay.

Starland has filed a lawsuit against the singer's ex-boyfriend Rob Fusari. She claims that when he asked for a "unique female singer, under the age of 25, who could be the female equivalent of the lead singer of the band the Strokes," she delivered Gaga.

In the legal papers filed at the Newark Federal Court, Starland says that she cut a deal with Fusari back in 2005 in which he promised her big-time profits if she found him a female singer that fit exactly what he was looking for.

This is the second time Gaga has faced a lawsuit from someone wanting money for the origin of her image. Fusari, himself, filed a $30.5 million suit against Germanotta claiming he crafted Gaga's image since 2006 ... and also had a hand in co-writing songs like Paparazzi and Beautiful, Dirty, Rich. Gaga, in turn, filed a countersuit saying that the contract she signed with Fusari was "unlawful." Both sides have since dropped their suits, but no word on whether a settlement was reached.

As for Starland's suit, she's seeking more than $75,000, as well as half of Fusari's profits that he's collected over the years from Lady Gaga's success.