• Thailand furious at Lady Gaga's fake Rolex tweet

    By Amy Sawitta Lefevre, Reuters

    BANGKOK -- Thailand's government is up in arms over a tweet by pop sensation Lady Gaga about buying a fake designer watch in a Bangkok street market and has complained to the United States.

    Narong Sangnak / EPA

    Lady Gaga greets Thai fans as she arrives at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.

    Bangkok's sprawling outdoor markets and some of its big shopping malls are widely known for selling near-perfect replicas of famous luxury brands, often imported from China.

    Even so, Gaga's May 23 tweet, two days ahead of a sellout concert in Bangkok, struck a raw nerve with some Thais who said the zany artist had dented the country's reputation by suggesting she could easily get her hands on a fake Rolex watch.

    The Grammy Award winner, who cancelled a concert after threats in Indonesia and faced protests by conservative groups in the Philippines and South Korea, has not apologized for the tweet, which Thailand's Commerce Ministry said undermined its efforts to stamp out piracy.

    "Lady Gaga is a representative of the U.S. and the U.S. puts pressure on smaller countries to promote the protection of intellectual property," an official at the ministry's Intellectual Property Department told Reuters, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

    "She should tell her fans that they shouldn't use fake goods."


    Gaga's comment stirred debate on Thai web forums and social media. A small protest took place in Bangkok's business district but that failed to keep fans away from her much-anticipated show on Friday, which attracted 50,000 people.

    Gaga's contentious tweet to her 24 million followers said: "I just landed in Bangkok baby! Ready for 50,000 screaming Thai monsters. I wanna get lost in a lady market and buy a fake rolex."

    She was believed to be referring to the popular Ladies' Market in Hong Kong.

    Officials at the U.S. embassy in Bangkok were unavailable for comment.

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  • Lady Gaga cancels Indonesia concert amid Muslim protest fears

    Dita Alangkara / AP

    Muslim men shout slogans during a rally against U.S. pop singer Lady Gaga outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday.

    By Alastair Jamieson, msnbc.com

    Lady Gaga has canceled a sell-out concert in Indonesia amid security fears following threats from Muslim hardliners over her provocative outfits, it is reported.

    Questions were raised about the ‘Born This Way Ball’ in Jakarta after the extremist Islamic Defenders Front predicted violence if it went ahead, calling the singer a “devil’s messenger” who wears only a “bra and panties” on stage, according to an Agence France-Presse report published by Al-Arabiya.

    Concert promotion lawyer Minola Sebayang confirmed Sunday that the June 3 show had been canceled, The Associated Press reported.

    Lady Gaga refused permit for Indonesia show following religious protests

    He said: "With threats if the concert goes ahead, Lady Gaga's side is calling off the concert. This is not only about Lady Gaga's security, but extends to those who will be watching her." 

    Indonesia is a secular nation, but with a population of 240 million has more Muslims than any other country in the world.

    Pat Roque / AP

    American pop singer and songwriter Lady Gaga waves to the crowd upon her arrival in Manila, Philippines, earlier this month.

    The Jakarta show would have been the biggest performance on Lady Gaga's Asian tour, and more than 50,000 tickets had been sold, the BBC reported.

    Promoters said they would offer refunds.

    According to music news site NME.com, the singer’s tour kicked off in controversy in April after authorities in Seoul, South Korea implemented a strict adults only policy at her show, banning anyone under the age of 18 from attending her first tour date.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

     

  • Japan mayor: I wouldn't hire tattooed stars Johnny Depp, Lady Gaga

    Miguel Villagran / Getty Images, file

    Lady Gaga shows off her tattoo of a Rilke poem in Braunschweig, Germany, on November 7, 2009.

    By Arata Yamamoto, NBC News

    TOKYO -- Even Hollywood stars Johnny Depp and Lady Gaga would not be welcome to work for the Japanese city of Osaka because of their tattoos, its mayor said amid a backlash over his stance against body art.

    Mayor Toru Hashimoto this week said that public employees "should go to the private sector" if they want to keep their tattoos.

    City authorities carried out a survey of their staff to ask whether they had any, whether they were normally concealed by clothing or not. More than 100 sanitation, public transport and other workers admitted they had tattoos.

    However, Sayuri Ohashi, a lawyer who represents Osaka workers, defended the right of people to decorate their bodies.

    "Whether one has a tattoo or not has nothing to do with their competence or skills," Ohashi said.

    "There are different types of tattoos, there are those that are indeed linked to organized crime and others who have etchings on their bodies as mementos, such as for their lost child," she added.

    'Breach of labor law'
    She added that getting employees to reveal information about their body was "a complete infringement of their rights."

    "And if they try to pressure them into quitting by transferring them to another work, that's a breach of the labor law," Ohashi said.

    Slideshow: Tattoo you: Celebrity ink

    Bryan Bedder / Getty Images

    Movie stars, rockers and reality wannabes are among those who've made a permanent mark.

    Launch slideshow

    The controversy started earlier this year when a city employee at a childcare facility was accused of intimidating a child by revealing his tattoo.

    Tattoos still carry a strong cultural association with the Japanese underworld and the yakuza crime gangs.

    City workers in Japan to be fired for having tattoos?

    Slideshow: Reformed skinhead removes tattoos

    Jae C. Hong / AP

    Trying to erase his past and start a new life, Bryon Widner underwent 25 painful surgeries to remove hate tattoos on his face, neck and hands.

    Launch slideshow

    Japan's aversion to tattoos can be found at swimming pools and public bath houses where there are often signs banning those with them.

    Hashimoto insisted being a public employee meant making some sacrifices.

    "Before I became governor, I had my hair dyed brown," he said. "I don't mean to be self-righteous … However, when you become governor or mayor you have to change it back to black. You're a public servant."

    Thousands gather at a temple in Thailand to honor a tattoo master and have their body art recharged by monks. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

    Asked by a reporter about Hollywood stars with tattoos, the mayor responded, "If Johnny Depp or Lady Gaga asked to become Osaka city employees, I would just say 'no'.”

    At the moment the city is not considering firing workers with tattoos, but Hiroshi Kotawa, from the city's personnel section, said they would be asked to cover them. "And if they still refuse, then we will consider transferring them to other jobs which will not require interaction with the public."

    A previous version of this article referred to Sayuri Ohashi, a female lawyer, as "he" due to an editing error.

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