Lady Gaga’s restaurateur father has taken down a crowdfunding campaign asking for donations to pay his New York staff during the coronavirus shutdown after facing fierce criticism online.
Joe Germanotta, 64, recently set up a GoFundMe page seeking $50,000 (£40,000) from the “community of neighbors, friends, family and fans” of his Italian eatery Joanne Trattoria, explaining the COVID-19 outbreak, which has forced restaurants to only offer take-out or delivery, has left his employees out of pocket.
According to Newsweek, the now-deleted fundraising page read: “Our amazing staff is made up of primarily hourly workers who depend on our payroll, and who overwhelmingly live paycheck to paycheck. “As our doors remain closed longer than