FACT CHECK: Is Ghislaine Maxwell Lady Gaga’s Aunt?
An image shared on Instagram claims late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell is recording artist Lady Gaga’s aunt.
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Verdict: False
There is no evidence Ghislaine Maxwell and Lady Gaga are directly related.
Fact Check:
The image in the Instagram post features photos of Serbian artist Marina Abramovic and Ghislaine Maxwell’s father Robert Maxwell. Text in the image alleges that Abramovic was actually Robert Maxwell’s son Michael Maxwell.
“Michael Maxwell (MARINA AMBROMIVIC) father Stefani Germanotta who we know as Lady Gaga,” text in the image states. “GHISLAIN MAXWELL is lady gagas biological Aunt.” (RELATED: Does This Photo Show Don Lemon With Jeffrey Epstein?)
There is no evidence, however, that Lady Gaga, born Stefani Germanotta, is Ghislaine Maxwell’s niece. The singer’s father is a restaurant owner in New York named Joseph Germanotta, Today reported. Her mother, who is the President and co-founder of the Born This Way Foundation, is Cynthia Bissett Germanotta, according to the Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Robert Maxwell was the owner of The Mirror Group of newspapers and died in 1991, The Guardian reported. Ghislaine Maxwell was the last of nine children he had with his wife Elizabeth, none of whom were named Joseph or Cynthia, according to The Telegraph.
It is also impossible that Abramovic is actually Robert Maxwell’s son Michael. Michael Maxwell died at age 23 in 1969 after a car crash left him in a coma for eight years, The Telegraph reported. Abramovic attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, Serbia, from 1965 to 1970, according to The British Museum. She wrote in a 2015 Wall Street Journal article that her parents were named Vojin and Danica, not Robert and Elizabeth.
The FBI arrested Ghislaine Maxwell in New Hampshire in July 2020, according to NPR, and she has been charged in an eight-count federal indictment with helping Epstein to sexually abuse minors. She has pleaded not guilty, and a judge announced on May 11 that her trial would begin in November, ABC News reported.
