Lady Gaga has revealed why she refused to shut down rumours she was trans.
It’s a moment that has entered Gaga lore. All throughout 2011, the internet swelled with rumours that Lady Gaga was trans or intersection – with doctored photos and message board speculation running rife.
CNN chose to bring this up, and with a direct stare to the interview Lady Gaga refused to shut it down: “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.”
It’s an incredible moment, and in many ways has come to define Lady Gaga’s loyal relationship to the LGBTQ+ community.
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Appearing on the second episode of What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates, this moment reared its head once again, and Lady Gaga went a little deeper on why she took this approach.
“When I was in my early 20s there was a rumour that I was a man,” Gaga told Bill Gates. “I went all over the world. I traveled for tours and for promoting my records and almost every interview I sat in they said … there was this imagery on the internet that had been doctored … they’d say, ‘There’s rumours that you’re a man. What do you have to say about that?’”
“The reason why I didn’t answer the question is because I didn’t feel like a victim with that lie and I thought: What about a kid who is being accused of that who would think that a public figure like me would feel shame?”
“I’ve been in situations where fixing a rumor was not in the best interest of the well being of other people. 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 added: “I’ve 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.”
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What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates is available to stream on Netflix.
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