Lady Gaga has opened up about why she never bothered to clear up rumours circulating earlier in her career that she was a man. In an interview with Anderson Cooper in 2011, the Joker: Folie à Deux star was asked: “There was a rumour that you had a male appendage, that you were a hermaphrodite ..
. A lot of artists would have put out some sort of statement saying ‘This is absolutely not true’, but you have fun with it.” The “Born This Way” singer responded: “Maybe I do.
Would it be so terrible? 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.” Now, in an appearance on Netflix ’s What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates , Gaga has explained why she chose not to dispel the rumours. “When I was in my early 20s there was a rumour that I was a man,” Lady Gaga told Gates.
“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?’” Gaga, a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community , said the rumours didn’t make her feel like a “victim”, and she didn’t want to pass on any “shame” to a child being accused of the same.
“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?” she said. “I’ve been in situations where fixing a rumour was not in the best interest of the well-being of other people.” Gaga explained that she’s used to “misinformation” and decided to try and use it to inspire thought and make a point.
“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. “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.” The rumours about Gaga being a “hermaphrodite” started after her performance at Glastonbury in 2009 when a photo went viral appearing to show a bulge in her underwear.
In 2010, in an interview with Q , Gaga addressed the rumours and talked about leaning into them. “We all know that one of the biggest talking points of the year was that I have a d***, so why not give them what they want? I want to wear a d*** strapped to my vagina. “I also carry myself onstage in a masculine way and sing in a low register.
This is not out of nowhere, right? I want to comment on that in a beautiful, artistic way. How I wanna show it. And I want to call this piece ‘Lady Gaga Dies Hard.
’” She went on to explain what the rumours signified, especially about a female performer open about her sexuality. “When a guy says, ‘Oh I f***** all these chicks this week’, there’s a high-five and giggling. But when a woman does it, and it’s publicised, or she’s open about her sexuality, or she’s free or liberated, it’s, ‘Oh, she must have a d***.
There’s a threat.” In 2009, Gaga publicly came out as bisexual. What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates is currently streaming on Netflix.
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