Lady Gaga reveals why she never responded to rumors early in her career that she was actually a man.
The singer-actress famously shushed a question about the rumor during a 2011 interview with CNN, saying, “Why the hell would I waste my time and put out a press release about whether or not I have a penis? My fans don't care and neither do I.” Years later, she's getting candid about consistently addressing misinformation about her online during a Netflix appearance What's Next? The Future with Bill Gates.
“When I was in my 20s, there were rumors that I was a man,” Lady Gaga told Bill Gates in episode two. “I traveled all over the world. I traveled on tour and promoting my records, and almost every interview I was in — there were these photoshopped images on the Internet — they were like, 'There are rumors that you're a man. What do you have to say about that?'”
THE Joker: Madness for Two The star said she never answered questions “because I didn't feel like a victim of that lie and I thought, what do you think of a guy who's accused of this and who would think that a public figure like me would be ashamed?”
“I’ve been in situations where correcting a rumor wasn’t in the best interest of other people’s well-being,” she continued. “In that case, I tried to be challenging and disruptive in another way. I tried to use misinformation to create another point of disruption.”
Lady Gaga added that she's “used to seeing lies printed about me since I was 20 years old. I'm a performer. I think it's pretty funny.”
The Grammy-winning singer was a major tour de force early in her music career, known for taking risks and shaking up the status quo. She later moved to Hollywood, showcasing her acting chops with her award-winning performance in 2018. A star is bornLady Gaga Now Starring in Next Film Joker: Madness for Twoout October 4th.