Life as a celebrity often demands a tough exterior, given the constant stream of peculiar and unfounded rumors that float about. Bringing a familiar face in the entertainment world into the spotlight, Lady Gaga, amid her fame and critical acclaim, has had her share of outlandish comments directed her way.
Addressing the Rumors Head-on
Among the more absurd speculations she has faced is the question of her gender identity. Throughout her career, even with her impressive musical achievements and devoted fanbase, Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, has been plagued by queries about whether she is secretly a man.
In her candid conversation during an episode of the Netflix documentary “What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates,” released in late September, Gaga tackled these bizarre assumptions directly. She explained to Bill Gates, “The reason I didn’t answer the question was because I didn’t feel like a victim with that lie.”
A Considerate Approach to Rumors
Gaga’s perspective extends compassionately toward those who might be more vulnerable to such accusations. She added, “I thought about, what about a kid that’s being accused of that, that would think that a public figure like me would feel shame.” Despite the absurdity of the speculation, journalists kept probing.
She detailed, “There was this imagery on the internet that had been doctored and they were like, ‘You know there’s this rumour that you’re a man. What do you have to say about that?’”
This level of persistent speculation put Gaga in situations where she needed to weigh her responses carefully, considering the wider impact beyond her own. She noted, “I’ve been in situations where fixing a rumour was not in the best interest of – I thought, of the well-being of other people.”
A Thoughtful and Disruptive Method
Choosing not to dignify an unfounded rumor with a declarative response, Gaga often prefers to redirect the narrative creatively. “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,” she explained.
In one noted instance in 2011, during an interview with Anderson Cooper, Gaga, then 24, was directly asked about the rumor. Her brisk and cheeky response caught attention: “Maybe I do. Would it be so terrible?”
True to Herself
Instead of issuing formal statements, Gaga has fun with these rumors, as Cooper himself observed. “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,” she expressed with a defiant spirit.
Reflecting further on her conversation with Gates, Gaga delved deeper into understanding how her public image is perceived. “People, I think, assume that someone like me who performs, that my performance is what’s not real. To me, that’s the most real thing that you’ll see about me,” she shared.
Her commitment to authenticity is powerful. “That is so much more real than all of the rumors that are designed to orbit me to gain more clicks,” she affirmed, staying steadfast in her confrontation of sensationalism.
