Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga videos yanked in prank

Pop stars Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga were the victim of a prank that saw many of their popular music videos removed from video streaming site Vevo.

A YouTube user calling himself iLcreation contacted the site to file a copyright complaint, claiming he held the rights to Bieber and Gaga’s music video catalogues. Since YouTube errs on the side of copyright caution, company policy dictates that the videos be taken down until the copyright issues can be resolved.

This resulted in Bieber’s entire catalogue – including his hit single Baby which boasted a record-breaking six million views – and several Gaga videos being stripped from the website Sunday night (August 28).

"Someone is making false copyright claims against the Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga channels and YouTube has blocked access to the videos as a result," a Vevo rep told TMZ yesterday (August 29). "We are working with YouTube to resolve ASAP."

The videos are now back online.