Lady Gaga has explained her decision to deflect unfounded rumours from the start of her career by claiming she was actually a man rather than addressing them directly.
While appearing in an episode of Netflix What's next? The future with Bill Gates Covering the misinformation, Gaga reflected on the impact of doctored photos that appeared online as supposed evidence that she had male genitalia.
“When I was in my early 20s there was a rumor that I was a man,” the artist told Gates (via Variety). “I went all over the world. I traveled on tour and to promote my records and [in] “In almost every interview I did, they would say, 'There are rumors that you're a man. What do you have to say about that?'”
She continued: “The reason I didn’t answer the question is because I didn’t feel like a victim with that lie and I thought, ‘What about a child who is being accused of that who would think that a public figure like me would feel embarrassed?’ I’ve been in situations where correcting a rumor wasn’t in the best interest of other people’s well-being. In that case, I tried to be thought-provoking and disruptive in another way. I tried to use misinformation to create another disruptive point.”
“Since I was 20, I’ve been used to people telling lies about me,” Gaga added. “I’m an artist. I think it’s kind of funny.”
Rumors that Gaga had male genitalia were fueled by a Bossip article later deleted with one alleged Gaga quote saying, “I have male and female genitalia, but I consider myself a woman.” The quote was never confirmed, and Gaga’s manager told ABC News in 2009 that the idea of her being a hermaphrodite was “completely ridiculous.”
In a 2011 interview, Anderson Cooper asked Gaga about the rumor that she had a “male appendage.” She flippantly replied, “Maybe I do. Would that be so terrible? Why the hell am I going to waste my time and put out a press release about whether I have a penis? My fans don’t care and I don’t care either.”
Last week, Gaga addressed another vestige of her past when she commented on the existence of an old Facebook group called “Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous.” The pop star is currently promoting her portrayal of Harley Quinn alongside Joaquin Phoenix in Todd Phillips’ upcoming film, Joker: Madness in twowhich opens in theaters on October 4.
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