A pair of cosmetic surgeons have faced a wave of criticism after 'leaked' WhatsApp messages allegedly showed them discussing Lady Gaga's neck.
Cosmetic surgeons Dr Daniel Aronov and Dr Daniel Lanzer reportedly made derogatory comments about Lady Gaga's appearance in messages published as part of a joint investigation from the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and ABC's Four Corners.
The investigation trawled through thousands of WhatsApp messages between doctors sent during a period between 2019 and 2021.
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The leaked messages appear to show Lanzer and Aronov, surgeons who became TikTok stars, discussing what cosmetic procedures they'd perform on singer Lady Gaga, with one appearing to say they'd give her 'neck lipo'.
The pair of cosmetic surgeons, along with three other doctors, are currently facing a class action lawsuit over allegations of negligence on behalf of 540 former patients.
Lawyers representing the former patients say five doctors are alleged to have engaged in 'misleading and deceptive conduct' while claiming some procedures were not carried out with an 'appropriate level of care and skill'.
The doctors are defending the claim and Lanzer has previously denied any wrongdoing.
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The alleged WhatsApp interaction opens with a message supposedly sent from Aronov saying: "Is it wrong that all I can think about during my inflight entertainment is how much I’d love to give Lady Gaga neck lipo?"
The respondent in the message chain, allegedly meant to be Lanzer, responds: "Write to her. Free."
A reply from the first person in the conversation then replies: "How do I word it so it’s not outrageously offensive? Hey Lady Gaga. Big fan. Can I call you lady? Just wanted to talk to you about your double chin…"
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Neither Aronov nor Lanzer are currently working as cosmetic surgeons after intervention from Australia's national health regulator.
Dr Aronov was last year banned from performing surgical procedures and told he could no longer practice without supervision after allegedly stopping surgery part-way through to film videos for TikTok.
His TikTok account, which is now private, has almost 13 million followers and hosted videos which showed him dancing and performing surgery on people.
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Complaints from several patients led the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) to ban him from surgery, ordering him to take down all surgery-related TikToks and not post about it again.
He can now only perform medicine as a general practitioner, and only then under supervision.
AHPRA confirmed that the restrictions imposed on Aronov are not time limited and will stay in place until the Medical Board of Australia decides to lift them.
As for Lanzer, his website informs visitors he's has since retired and is 'no longer a registered medical practitioner'.
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Joe Harker