Richard 'Richy' Jackson insists his behavior was within the norms of elite-level dance, adding some of the accusers actually thanked him for giving them a big break in the industry.
- Jul 8, 2023
AceShowbiz - Lady GaGa's choreographer insisted it had "worked" between him and her dancers after 10 of them accused him of toxic behaviour. In a Rolling Stone article, Richard "Richy" Jackson, 43, was accused of being abusive and using his power to demean staff "just because he could," and he has now broken his silence on the accusations to insist he did nothing wrong.
"They were the underdogs - just like me - the weirdos. That's why when we were all together, it worked. I don't believe that they worked as much as me as a dancer outside of them being dancers for this job. (The Gaga job) was it. And it was OK that it was it because she's such a huge artist, who else matters?" he told Page Six about some of the dancers.
Shortly before Gaga's "Chromatica Ball" tour kicked off in July 2022, 10 dancers made various claims about Richy, including allegations he had embarrassed them, talked down to them, and had been disrespectful of their time.
Richy insists only one of the dancers who made complaints had been hired for the "Chromatica Ball" tour. He added, "I think to save face, for their pride, for their ego, they said, 'We walked away,' as opposed to, 'I just wasn't asked back.' I feel like they threw me under the bus for that."
Page Six said it had reached out to all of the dancers who were named in the Rolling Stone article or identified themselves online.
One declined to comment while another, Knicole Haggins, said she resigned as one of Gaga's dancer during the "Artpop" tour before "Chromatica" - so said she couldn't have made allegations against Richy as she wasn't hired for the shows. The rest of the dancers didn't respond to Page Six's request for comment.
It said Richy said the allegations have been heartbreaking, partly because he helped some of his accusers to break into the dance world. He added he has text messages from some of them that they sent before the bad blood broke out, thanking him for the role he's played in their careers.
Richy also said it has been a long-term habit of his to explain to dancers why they didn't get a job at an audition, rather than sending them home. He admitted he is disappointed it may have been interpreted as him "talking down" to dancers.
Richy also said about the other complaints - which included that he was "not considering the dancer's time or the toll extensive rehearsing was taking on their bodies" - came after behaviour of his that he considered well within the norms of elite-level dance.
Dancer Caroline Diamond previously said in a video, "He abused me, he embarrassed me, he made me feel terrible in the workplace, just because he could. Gaga was my dream... I chased it and I got it, and she is the dream, and then you get there, and this man makes your dream a nightmare."
All the dancers who made allegations against the choreographer spoke highly of Gaga, 37, and stressed she "had nothing to do with the situation, as she wasn't present for much of the dancers' rehearsals with Jackson."
