Lady Gaga explained why she had never spoken out about a long-running rumour.
In the early years of her career, a rumour about her being a man dominated the headlines.
The American singer-songwriter and actress, who will star in the upcoming musical Joker: Folie A Deux, has always been vocal on LGBT causes.
The pop star famously addressed the claim in a CNN interview in 2011.
“Why the hell am I going to waste my time and give a press release about whether or not I have a penis? My fans don’t care and neither do I.”
Earlier this week, Lady Gaga spoke to Bill Gates on Netflix’s What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates about the long-standing rumour.
“When I was in my early 20s there was a rumour that I was a man.
“And I went all over the world. I travelled for tours and for promoting my records and almost every interview I sat in, there was this imagery on the internet that had been doctored.”
“They were like, ‘There’s rumours that you’re a man. What do you have to say about that?’”
“The reason I didn’t answer the question is because I didn’t feel like a victim with that lie, but I thought, ‘What about a kid who is being accused of that, (what) would (they) think that a public figure like me (who) would feel shame?”
“People assume […] that my performance is what’s not real. But to me, that’s the most real thing that you’ll see about me.”
Lady Gaga talks about how she’s handled misinformation in her career in What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates. Now playing. pic.twitter.com/legQm24FEA
— Netflix (@netflix) September 18, 2024
She continued: “What I’m saying is, I’ve been in situations where fixing a rumour was not in the best interest of the wellbeing of other people.”
“So in that case I tried to be thought provoking and disruptive in another way. I tried to use the misinformation to create another disruptive point.”
Lady Gaga said she believes the idea that her “performance is what’s not real,” is a strange claim as that is the “most real” thing about her.
“The 13-time Grammy winner also said that she has “been used to lies being printed about me since I was 20 years old.”
“I’m a performer. I think it’s kind of funny,” Lady Gaga added.
In addition, Lady Gaga—who identifies as bisexual—established a charity bearing the same name as the song Born This Way, which supports young people going through challenging circumstances.
Her name is Joanne Stefani Germanotta, and she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress for the movie A Star Is Born.
She also won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the movie Shallow.
In Todd Phillips’ latest picture, Lady Gaga portrays Harley Quinn, the romantic interest of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker.
Joaquin took home the Best Actor Oscar in 2019 for the first instalment, Joker.
