Lady Gaga’s Dad Reveals the Surprising Gift the Singer Sent Him for Father’s Day

Lady Gaga's dad Joe Germanotta opened up about his Father's Day gift from the "Stupid Love" singer and how his restaurant is doing in the wake of the pandemic.

By emily belfiore Jun 23, 2020 12:02 PMTags

Lady Gaga treated her dad to something sweet this Father's Day

While speaking with Fox Business, her father Joe Germanotta revealed that he received a surprising gift from the "Stupid Love" singer.

"My daughter Stefani—you know, a.k.a. Lady Gaga—she sent me a box of Oreos," he said as he let out a chuckle. "And my other daughter Natali, she's Uptown. She's in New York City. She's taking me for a long bike ride and it was a great day. It was a great day." 

Germanotta also opened up about reopening his restaurant Joanne Trattoria, located on New York City's Upper West Side, explaining that it was a "scramble" to get everything in order as Manhattan entered phase 2 of reopening after the pandemic. Under new restaurant guidelines, Germanotta can serve up to 40 patrons at a time in the outdoor portion of the Italian eatery.

Optimistic, he said, "If I can turn the tables a couple of times, I should be able to break even. It's a matter of the people coming out."

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Stars Celebrate Father's Day 2020

"I happen to think there's some pent-up demand to get out to restaurants, get out of the house. I think people have money," Germanotta continued. "The consumers have been socking it away. They've been eating at home and cooking at home."

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In response to the pandemic, Germanotta closed the restaurant for two weeks in order to "clean up" the space and said that he struggled to pay his employees. Shortly after, the restaurant owner created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his furloughed workers. 

"I'm doing the best I can but we had to close Joanne for the month," Germanotta wrote in a now-deleted tweet. "Our staff needs some financial help. Any help for our employees will be appreciated."

He received backlash on social media following his tweet. "You're asking people that are more than likely worse off than you to pay for your staff. Come on, you can afford to pay them," one person tweeted, followed by another, who said, "why doesn't he ask his very rich daughter to help him pay his employees?"

During his interview with Fox Business, Germanotta revealed that he received a Paycheck Protection Program [PPP] Loan, which he called a "godsend," and was able to hire back his key employees.

"Initially, before I got the PPP money, I paid them out of my pocket and I just wanted to keep them going," he said. "The PPP money really, really helped out because it was—basically all we had to do was cover food cost and the rent and the lights. And that really helped."