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Lady Gaga’s Golden Globes gown up for auction after being found in hotel room by maid

Concerns raised over reports the dress was stolen

Sarah Young
Tuesday 29 October 2019 15:44 GMT
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Golden Globes 2019: Stars arrive in white on red carpet ahead of awards

The Valentino Couture gown worn by Lady Gaga to the 2019 Golden Globes is being auctioned after it was found by a hotel housekeeper.

Sara Corea, who has worked at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles – where the ceremony was held – for 24 years, has put the dress up for sale after it was left behind at the hotel.

The dress, which is being sold through Nate D. Sanders Auctions, is currently priced at $8,000 (£6,240) and has two days of bidding left.

A letter of authenticity written by Corea is included in the lot, in which the housekeeper claims she took the dress to the hotel’s lost and found on 8 January 2019.

Corea continued by stating that after the gown remained unclaimed for eight months it was returned to her “as a gift” by the hotel, at which point she chose to put it up for sale.

The Beverly Hilton and Nate D. Sanders Auctions have since issued statements regarding the legitimacy of the sale after rumours began to circulate that the dress may have be stolen.

A spokesperson for the auction house said that it believes Corea is the rightful owner of the gown, saying: “We have been made aware of a question concerning the provenance of the Lady Gaga dress being auctioned on October 31.

“Our research confirms the dress was given to the Beverly Hilton lost and found department, where it stayed for almost nine months.

“The hotel, in accordance with its longstanding policy, released the dress when no one claimed the item. The consignor has a receipt from the Beverly Hilton lost and found department and documentation, which accompanies the dress for auction.”

The Beverly Hilton reiterated the auction house's statement regarding reports the dress was stolen.

However it added that it is in the process of conducting an investigation to determine the gown's “rightful owner”.

“While we are still conducting an internal investigation to understand all the facts, we have no reason to believe the item was stolen,” a spokesperson said.

(Nate D. Sanders Auctions)

“We are working with all parties to retrieve the item and have it returned to its rightful owner as soon as possible.”

When contacted by The Independent, Valentino declined to comment.

In January, the "Bad Romance" singer accepted the award for Best Original Song for A Star Is Born at the Golden Globes wearing the custom periwinkle blue dress which featured off-the-shoulder sleeves and a billowing train.

(Nate D. Sanders Auctions)

At the time, fans speculated that the dress was a tribute to Judy Garland who wore a similar outfit in the 1954 version of A Star is Born.

However, when presented with the image of Garland wearing the dress, Gaga revealed that the resemblance was unintentional.

“We didn't see that. No, but it looks an awful lot like that, doesn't it?” she told Entertainment Tonight.

“She looks beautiful. This is Valentino Couture custom creation for me. That's special, except I'm missing the gloves. Thank you for showing me that. It made my night."

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