Celebrities who’ve been accused of being manipulative

If insiders are to be believed, Bradley Cooper wanted an Oscar for A Star Is Born so badly that he was willing to potentially break his co-star’s heart (and maybe irk his baby mama) to do it. A source told Page Six that Cooper and Lady Gaga’s chemistry was no accident. “Hollywood is buzzing that Gaga fell for Bradley during preproduction and filming, creating the intense emotional energy you see on-screen and at the Oscars … He wanted an authentic love story on-screen.” The source claimed Gaga was “vulnerable.” A second insider said Cooper was milking his connection with Mother Monster for attention at the 2019 Oscars.

For her part, Gaga was candid about the Oscars performance being staged — by Cooper. “Everything that you saw, the way that it was shot, the way that they pushed the piano out, you saw them put the piano together, and us walk up onstage, no intro. All of that, that was all him,” she told Jimmy Kimmel Live, noting that the idea was to be “connected the entire time.” She added, “When you’re singing love songs, that’s what you want people to feel. I’m an artist and I guess we did a good job. Fooled ya!”

In any case, if Cooper really was gunning for an Oscar just for him, maybe his motivations were too … ahem … sha-lolla-shallow to succeed. He was passed over, while Gaga won best original song for “Shallow.”