Lady Gaga wanted to feature an adorable Asian jungle creature called a slow loris in her latest music video — but she settled for five of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” after the animal bit her.
Gaga, her parents and her crew, including synchronized swimmers, arrived Monday at San Simeon — the California castle built by William Randolph Hearst — for a three-day shoot of “G.U.Y. (Girl Under You)” a song on her “ArtPop” album.
An animal trainer brought a slow loris, a baby kangaroo and an exotic goat, but none of the animals were used.
“The slow loris is the cutest creature on the planet, and Lady Gaga wanted to use it in one scene, but it nipped her,” a source told me. “They put it back in its box and took it away in disgrace.”
The pop star wasn’t hurt. “She just laughed about it,” the source added. “She was a good sport.”
Later, Gaga, who donated $250,000 to the Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation, wanted to use the goat, but an official from the California State Parks Department, vetoed the idea.
“The State Parks guy said, ‘Absolutely not!’ ” said my source.
Instead, Gaga shares the screen with Beverly Hills “Housewives” Kim and Kyle Richards, Lisa Vanderpump, Yolanda Foster and Carlton Gebbia.
The castle hadn’t been used in a commercial shoot since Stanley Kubrick filmed a scene for “Spartacus” there in 1960. Gaga used the castle’s iconic outdoor Neptune Pool for one scene and the indoor Roman Pool, with its gold leaf and lapis lazuli Murano tiles, in another.
Anne Hearst, granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, told me, “Even in my grandfather’s day, the castle never saw anything like this.”
Anne was blown away by Gaga’s appreciation for all the art in the castle, and her work ethic. “It’s amazing how much this woman does. She’s involved with everything.”
Hearst said she liked the song “G.U.Y,” even after hearing it blasting nonstop for three days.