The drama began just five days before the Grammy-winner’s “The Chromatica Ball” tour kicked off in Germany on July 17, when Gaga’s fans (A.K.A “Little Monsters”) noticed a slurry of disapproving social media posts were being made by Gaga’s dancers. “Every lady gaga [sic] dancer is announcing they’re departing from the haus because of richy jackson. montana, sloan, asiel, richy, kevin and now graham,” one user wrote. “a whole family ripped apart because of this f*ing man. i’m so fing disgusted and pissed. the end of an era.” One of Lady Gaga’s longtime dancers, Montana Efew, responded to the Little Monsters request for an explanation in a video originally posted to Instagram Story. In the video, which has now been reposted across sites and reached viral status, Efew confirms that she will not be present for the 2022 summer tour. “I wanted to hop on here because I got such an overflow of inbox messages and questions about summer tour and it just felt right that you heard straight from me, um, that I will not be out on the Chromatica summer tour,” she said. Efew, who has danced with Gaga since the artist’s Monster Ball tour–over 10 years ago, didn’t leave fans with any reason to speculate and called out the instances that ultimately led to her decision to walk away. “To be completely open and honest with you guys, her choreographer Richard Jackson was a horrible person to work for. And after a series of unfortunate events, I just took it as a really clear sign that it’s time for me to move on and not work with him anymore.” Efew, isn’t the only dancer to have cleared Haus over Jackson’s behavior, others who have said they are done include: Asiel Hardison, Sloan-Taylor Rabinor, Kevin Frey, Graham Breitenstein, and Caroline Loeser (A.K.A Caroline Diamond). After Efew spoke out, many of the other former Haus members followed suit. Breitenstein shared in a video: “If you haven’t already seen my girl Montana’s stories today, I encourage you to go check them out because she is speaking on things that some of us have been holding in for quite some time.” Breitenstein then confirmed his absence from this tour and offered insight into what he witnessed on set. “It’s only right that you hear it directly from me, and from those of us that are affected; I will not be apart of this tour. It’s no secret that Gaga’s choreographer, Richard Jackson, and I had a longstanding friendship which turned working-relationship back in 2016 when I started assisting him. And for years I fought like hell to improve dancers’ experience and to just show another way that professional gaze can go.” The dancer claimed that for years he worked to ensure dancers on Gaga’s team were included on any discussions that involved them or the work they do and their basic needs were met, something he alleged the lead choreographer neglected since assuming the position in 2011, even after push back from Breitenstein. “When that friendship and working-relationship came to an abrupt end last year, there was no turning back. I knew that the end of that relationship was going to be the end of my working with Gaga under his direction.” Frey, who joined Lady Gaga’s team back in 2012, also accused the choreographer of ill-treatment. “I know there are a lot of people who want to know why I will not be returning and I want to address that by saying this: This has nothing at all to do with Gaga. The current working environment is one that I believe to be unsafe and unhealthy. I have experienced and witnessed too many people that I love/care about be intentionally hurt by an individual who is unqualified and unfit to lead a group of adult professional artists.” He added: “Those that have the power to make those changes have been informed and I am hopeful they will investigate and make changes that are conducive to creating a professional, healthy, and safe working environment for everyone.” According to a report published by Rolling Stone, even more dancers have pointed the finger at Jackson for mistreatment but only on the clause of anonymity; and stated that after auditions, Jackson would berate them over personal matters—such as energy and personality—rather than their dancing. Another anonymous dancer said Jackson was on an “ego trip” and made audition schedules that were “disrespectful of dancers’ time.” The source also said he only cut dancers at the end of a nine-hour process. “I’ve never been to an audition like this in my life — never before, and ever after.” French dancer Celine Thubert also told reporters that Jackson called her names, made fun of her accent, and isolated her from other dancers while she auditioned for the ‘Poker Face’ music video. Dancer Caroline Diamond admitted that she was uncertain as to whether or not she would speak up and credited other dancers for their support. In a video she shared to Instagram, the dancer also detailed alleged abuse at the hand of Jackson. “Even though I wasn’t considered for Chromatica and I haven’t been around the Gaga camp in a minute, I felt in my heart that I wanted to speak on this too; that I too was at the hands of Richy Jackson and he abused me, he embarrassed me, and he made me feel terrible in the work place–and just because he could.” All of the dancers who spoke out against Jackson have also pledged their loyalty to Gaga and cleared the artist of any wrongdoing. As of yet, neither Lady Gaga or Jackson have responded to the accusations, but Gaga’s team is reportedly investigating the claims. Next, The Real Reason Kate McKinnon Left ‘Saturday Night Live’.
