Yes, you can say that. The reason we can sometimes use "is" and sometimes use "are" with "a lot of" is because the next word may be countable (e.g., "there are a lot of people") or uncountable (e.g., "there is a lot of information on the hard drive" or "There is a lot of water in the lake").

Both sentences are correct. One should use "there is a lot of" in singular form and "there are a lot of" in plural form. And, yes, your sentence "I have a lot of confusion" is correct. e.g. There are a lot of players on the ground. (players -plural form). There is a lot of pain in my foot. (pain - singular form). I hope this helps you. Ganesh

Actually the second one is correct but because a lot of people thinks that "there is" is always a substitute for there's, the tendency is to assume that it is correct. It is a common mistake.