Ryan Fischer defends the 'Bad Romance' singer against accusation that she's not helping him after he set up a GoFundMe page, stressing, 'She's helped me so much.'
- Sep 18, 2021
AceShowbiz - Lady GaGa's dog walker has defended the star following allegations that she didn't help him after he was shot while walking her dogs. Speaking out in his first television interview since the attack, Ryan Fischer said it was his decision to go on healing journey without the singer's assistance.
Fischer appeared on "CBS Mornings" on Friday, September 17, first sitting with co-host Gayle King. "She's been a friend for me," he said of the 12-time Grammy Award-winning artist when asked about fans assuming his online fundraiser begging for help meant the "A Star Is Born" actress is abandoning him. Asked if they are on "very good terms," he said, "Yeah."
Saying that GaGa "has helped me so much," the 40-year-old detailed, "After I was attacked, my family was flown out, and I had trauma therapists flown to me." He added, "And I stayed at her house for months while friends comforted me and security was around me."
"LG is very supportive of my journey right now and I think it's hard for people to understand why someone would go about healing in this way," he said of his healing journey and his plans to spend time in retreat centers and trauma programs, as well as talking to queer healers, creatives and spiritual leaders.
He also explained why he refused to keep leaning on GaGa. "I grew up Catholic Jesuit faith, and there's something about giving up your resources, giving up belongings and contributing that to society," he said. "And so I know that doesn't make sense to a lot of people, [but] she totally gets it," he added of the "Poker Face" singer.
On how he's healing after getting struck with a bullet in the dognapping, Fischer admitted during the interview filmed in New York City's Central Park, "Some days are great, some weeks are not. And that's been the big up and down the last couple of months."
King's co-anchor Nate Burleson wasn't satisfied with Fischer's answer and asked King at the end of the segment why GaGa, who's worth over $300 million, wouldn't just pay for Fischer's trip instead of him asking strangers for money. "This is the thing, Nate - she's paid for all of his medical bills, he lived in her house, she has trauma therapists," King explained on behalf of Fischer.
"He doesn't want it. That's the bottom line. He doesn't want it. He wants to go on this journey. He wants to do it himself," she added. "The last thing [Fischer] wants is for people to feel GaGa's let him down because she's still supporting him in any way he needs. This is what he wants to do."
