Lady Gaga's teacup raises Rs 40 lakh for Japan victims

A teacup and saucer used only once by pop diva Lady Gaga sold for more than $75,000 (Rs 40 lakh) at an auction, the sale's organiser said yesterday.

With more than 1,300 bids, the weeklong auction finished Sunday with a top offer of ¥6,011,000 (Rs 40 lakh), according to Yahoo Japan, which managed the tsunami charity event.

The cup was used by Lady Gaga at a news conference in Tokyo three months after the massive tsunami of March last year, which swamped a large stretch of coastline.

Lady Gaga told reporters at the time that she would auction the cup, marked with her lipstick and bearing the Japanese message ‘We pray for Japan' along with the star's autograph.

All the money raised will be used to help young Japanese artists who want to study in the US. The teacup was one of the items being sold to raise money for those affected by Japan's tsunami and was the second most expensive item, behind a crystal piano used by a Japanese rock star.