Angry fans booed Lady Gaga after she arrived over an hour late for a public appearance – and then dashed indoors before many had even caught a glimpse of her.
Hundreds of screaming fans crammed the streets around luxury department store Harrods ahead of the UK launch of her new perfume, Lady Gaga Fame.
But many were left disappointed after she refused to walk the full length of a specially-themed black carpet, and then went inside before some had even caught sight of her, leading to a chorus of boos.
Luke Reader, 18, from central London, said: “It’s quite ironic it’s called Fame because it just shows how much fame has changed her.
“She couldn’t even spend five minutes talking and having some pictures taken. It’s not on.”
Alex George, 18, from Islington, north London, waited almost three hours to see Lady Gaga and described the event as “a bit of a letdown”. She added: “I’m obviously annoyed. She was late and I thought she would sign autographs and I’d be able to get a picture.”
Marcello Marino, 43, brought his five-year-old daughter Marcella to the store but was left frustrated. “We thought she would come up to the fans. We’ve been here all day long but she didn’t do anything,” said Marino, from Ramsgate, Kent.
Lady Gaga’s fans – known as Little Monsters – held black and gold balloons and sang a number of her hits including Bad Romance and Poker Face as they waited for the star.
She was due to arrive at the event in Knightsbridge, central London, at 7.45pm on Sunday but it was 8.45pm before she finally turned up – wearing a black dress – in a horse and carriage. She then walked part of the way down the black carpet before entering the store where she held a tea party for 75 competition winners.
Earlier she wrote on Twitter: “So excited, going to be at @Harrods in an hour! Just drove through London, so beautiful seeing all the Sunday strollers in love...”
She has previously described the reaction to her floral perfume as “overwhelming” and claimed six million bottles were sold in its first week, making it the second fastest selling fragrance after Coco Chanel.
It is the first black fragrance that becomes clear once it has been sprayed. It contains the poisonous flower Belladonna, sweet honey drops, saffron and apricot.