This week Sir Elton John, 64, and husband David Furnish, 48, confirmed that superstar Lady Gaga is the godmother of their 4-month-old son, Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John.
During a "20/20" interview that aired Friday, host Barbara Walters asked the couple about their decision to select the controversial "Judas" singer for the special honor.
"A lot of people said, 'Oh, that's crazy,'" Elton revealed. "And they don't know her, and we do."
Elton suggested that the public not judge the singer born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta by her stage persona alone. "When you get to the real person underneath, there's a simple girl who loves her parents," he said.
Elton And David Open Up On Fatherhood
David anticipates Lady Gaga helping navigate Zachary's future interest in music. "Zachary's going to inherit an incredible musical legacy from his father one day, and she will be a good person to guide him through the ins and outs of the music business, 'cause she sure knows everything about the business now," he said.
Clearly, Lady Gaga is not the only celebrity ever picked to oversee the physical and spiritual well being of a child in the event the parents are no longer able to do so. The following is a list, compiled by Parade magazine, of other famous godparents. Elton reportedly has several godchildren himself, among them, Brooklyn and Romeo, the sons of Victoria and David Beckham. U2 frontman Bono is the godfather to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's twins, Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon. Sting and wife Trudie Styler accepted the honor to be godparents to Madonna and Guy Ritchie's son, Rocco. The late Michael Jackson was the godfather of Lionel Richie's famous daughter Nicole.
Aside from Gaga's good news this week, she also experienced backlashes when her manager denied Weird Al's initial requests to make a parody of "Born This Way" and when she responded in an angry rant to NME when the magazine compared "Born This Way" to Madonna's "Express Yourself." But there were more shocking news stories this week. Judges in the manslaughter hearing of Michael Jackson physician Conrad Murrary will allow autopsy photos of the king of pop to be used in court. Leann Rimes wed actor Eddie Cibrian, and Rihanna tied a chart record with the Supremes.
This was a great week for news. Be sure to check back in seven days for more water cooler talk. See you then.
