Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Amid Grammy Performance, Lady Gaga’s Ties With Epstein Spark Chatter As New Files Are Released
Lady Gaga in a dramatic black feathered outfit, sparking Epstein ties chatter amid Grammy performance and new file release.

Amid Grammy Performance, Lady Gaga’s Ties With Epstein Spark Chatter As New Files Are Released

15

ADVERTISEMENT

As Lady Gaga prepares to take the stage at the 2026 Grammy Awards, a separate conversation threatens to cast a shadow over her act: her mentions in the Epstein files released January 30.

For many online, the fact that her name appears several times in the 3,000-page document threatens to ruin her reputation, as critics lump her in alongside controversial figures also mentioned, such as Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, and others.

RELATED:
    Highlights
    • Gaga is mentioned multiple times in the January 30 Epstein file release.
    • Author Deepak Chopra referred to her as a "friend," and suggested her as a guest for dinner with Epstein.
    • Epstein was also allegedly invited to Lady Gaga's release party for her third studio album, Artpop.

    “The elite dinner-party web just keeps getting weirder and darker,” a reader wrote.

    The files also mention Epstein taking an interest in Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, but allegedly being ignored by the artist.

    Lady Gaga’s several mentions in the recently released batch of the Epstein files have fueled debate online

    Image credits: Getty/Amy Sussman

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The latest disclosure came in a massive Justice Department release tied to late offender Jeffrey Epstein, with officials dumping more than three million pages into the public domain under a transparency law signed by Donald Trump.

    According to the DOJ briefing, the new batch is huge in volume and heavily controlled in what the public can actually see.

    Image credits: Getty/Handout

    Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the publication includes roughly 180,000 images and more than 2,000 videos, bringing the total released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act to about 3.5 million pages.

    He said more than 500 lawyers and professionals worked long hours to prepare the disclosure, and defended missing the government’s 30-day deadline by pointing to the scale of the review.

    Image credits: zzimyboy

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    Image credits: ladygaga

    In the same briefing, Blanche laid out what was excluded, including personally identifying details of victims, medical files, any depictions of crimes connected to children, and anything that could jeopardize an active investigation.

    He also said the department applied extensive visual redactions, describing how every woman appearing in images and videos was blurred except for Ghislaine Maxwell.

    Even with those guardrails, the DOJ also stressed a point that appearing in the documents does not mean a person committed a crime.

    Self-help author Deepak Chopra mentioned Gaga as a “friend” and considered inviting her to dinner with Epstein

    Image credits: FuturePurfect

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: Getty/Kevin Winter

    Inside that broader release, Gaga’s name has become a lightning rod, and the most shared example is an email exchange involving new age guru Deepak Chopra.

    One message shows Epstein asking Chopra: “If your task was to bring the two most interesting people that you like to dinner, who?”

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Chopra’s reply, dated Monday, August 15, 2016, put Gaga at the top of his list and described her as someone he considered a friend.

    Image credits: realDaBest

    Image credits: DOJ

    ADVERTISEMENT

    He also suggested physicist Max Tegmark as another standout guest, then added that Madonna was a close friend as well, while claiming Gaga and Madonna disliked each other and saying he would love to see them make peace.

    Chopra rounded out the dinner idea by mentioning Nobel Prize-winning physicist Frank Wilczek and filmmaker Woody Allen, then shifted to logistics, asking if Epstein could speak by phone on Wednesday and noting he could potentially sneak away the next day if that worked better.

    Image credits: Apple Music

    Online, that single phrase “she is a friend” has been treated as the smoking gun, with fans arguing over what “friend” means in this context and how seriously it should be taken as a statement of real-world proximity to Epstein.

    The Chopra email is not the only place Gaga appears in the material being discussed.

    Image credits: MarioNawfal

    Image credits: DOJ

    One earlier email from 2011, sent by a Scott Dennett, references Epstein while also mentioning Gaga as a concert destination.

    In that message, Dennett mentions Epstein, suggests he might need a boat to get to the island, and says he bought a ticket to attend Gaga’s ArtRave show in New York.

    Image credits: Getty/Brianna Bryson

    Similar correspondence from that year mentions Jeff Koons, who designed Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP album cover and participated in the creation of a $25 million sculpture commemorating the production.

    The email mentions Koons’ intent to invite Epstein to the album’s release party.

    This isn’t the first time Gaga has been involved in a controversy related to Epstein

    In early 2025, she appeared alongside other celebrities in a debunked “list” of Epstein associates that circulated online as a supposed “visitor list” to Epstein’s island.

    Posts on X and Facebook shared an image claiming it proved the implication of public figures, with names such as Gates, Justin Trudeau, Gaga, and Ellen DeGeneres.

    Image credits: Getty/NBC

    The claim gained traction after Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced that documents would be declassified.

    However, the circulating “visitor list” was not among the official documents published in February 2025 by the FBI and the Attorney General’s Office, nor among the case-related files declassified in January 2024.

    “Silence”: Fans believe Gaga repeatedly ignored Epstein

    Image credits: xcxsuspended143

    Image credits: simonkp

    Image credits: grumpy86usa

    Image credits: LOVEDROUGHT904

    Image credits: BushiSays

    Image credits: Leowuzhere0723

    Image credits: 0xCaptainLevi

    Image credits: Nowanso

    Image credits: shar65230

    Image credits: iri50913

    Image credits: katycat_love_s

    Poll Question

    Total votes ·

    Thanks! Check out the results:

    Total votes ·
    Share on Facebook

    Explore more of these tags

    Abel Musa Miño

    Abel Musa Miño

    Writer, Entertainment News Writer

    Read more »

    Born in Santiago, Chile, with a background in communication and international relations, I bring a global perspective to entertainment reporting at Bored Panda. I cover celebrity news, Hollywood events, true crime, and viral stories that resonate across cultures. My reporting has been featured on Google News, connecting international audiences to the latest in entertainment. For me, journalism is about bridging local stories with global conversations, arming readers with the knowledge necessary to make up their own minds. Research is at the core of my work. I believe that well-sourced, factual storytelling is essential to building trust and driving meaningful engagement.

    Read less »
    Abel Musa Miño

    Abel Musa Miño

    Writer, Entertainment News Writer

    Born in Santiago, Chile, with a background in communication and international relations, I bring a global perspective to entertainment reporting at Bored Panda. I cover celebrity news, Hollywood events, true crime, and viral stories that resonate across cultures. My reporting has been featured on Google News, connecting international audiences to the latest in entertainment. For me, journalism is about bridging local stories with global conversations, arming readers with the knowledge necessary to make up their own minds. Research is at the core of my work. I believe that well-sourced, factual storytelling is essential to building trust and driving meaningful engagement.

    What do you think ?
    Marno C.
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Something to keep in mind is that predators often purposefully surround themselves with unwitting people and institutions to give themselves cloaks of access to power and influence and seeming respectability. (See Gacy & Rosalyn Carter, BTK & his church, Jimmy Saville & the charities). Epstein, like other predators, would seek people out in order to further his reputation as a powerful and connected person and, likely, would evaluate them to see if they would stay on the 'respectable' right hand or if they were amenable to being switched to the more corrupt left hand. He was a user and I do not automatically assume every public figure he cultivated was part of the trafficking or other depravity. If we can't think critically about the evidence, the real pervs in the files will slip past.

    Natalia
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She also collaborated with R. Kelly

    Ultimatethricecream
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Abramovich spirit cooking that was one of the things Lady Gaga always indulged in eating cake that was an open brag celebrating those they either unalived some way somehow or blood sacrificed someway somehow to receive the energies and powers they believed in. The very outfits Gaga often would wear to express an open public brag to the world what she was very proud of but also did not want to become. The human blood sacrifice and disfigurement of the face and the crown was the facial skin and hair saturated in its own blood and the entire body skinned off, then the meat outfit both was her saying what she is guilty of doing to be reborn but born into becoming a reptilian seed of the serpent that she rather be the predator to ensure she never becomes the prey. Celebs do not make the A list of singers unless they sell their souls to that extreme. You get what you pay for and the point is Absolutely Gaga is guilty as Epstein and the sick twisted Chopra.

    Marno C.
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Something to keep in mind is that predators often purposefully surround themselves with unwitting people and institutions to give themselves cloaks of access to power and influence and seeming respectability. (See Gacy & Rosalyn Carter, BTK & his church, Jimmy Saville & the charities). Epstein, like other predators, would seek people out in order to further his reputation as a powerful and connected person and, likely, would evaluate them to see if they would stay on the 'respectable' right hand or if they were amenable to being switched to the more corrupt left hand. He was a user and I do not automatically assume every public figure he cultivated was part of the trafficking or other depravity. If we can't think critically about the evidence, the real pervs in the files will slip past.

    Natalia
    Community Member
    1 month ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She also collaborated with R. Kelly

    Ultimatethricecream
    Community Member
    2 weeks ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Abramovich spirit cooking that was one of the things Lady Gaga always indulged in eating cake that was an open brag celebrating those they either unalived some way somehow or blood sacrificed someway somehow to receive the energies and powers they believed in. The very outfits Gaga often would wear to express an open public brag to the world what she was very proud of but also did not want to become. The human blood sacrifice and disfigurement of the face and the crown was the facial skin and hair saturated in its own blood and the entire body skinned off, then the meat outfit both was her saying what she is guilty of doing to be reborn but born into becoming a reptilian seed of the serpent that she rather be the predator to ensure she never becomes the prey. Celebs do not make the A list of singers unless they sell their souls to that extreme. You get what you pay for and the point is Absolutely Gaga is guilty as Epstein and the sick twisted Chopra.

    You May Like
    Related on Bored Panda
    Popular on Bored Panda
    Trending on Bored Panda
    Also on Bored Panda
    ADVERTISEMENT