Is it me, or has Lady Gaga been relatively low-key with her Joker: Folie à Deux promotion? The A Star Is Born and House of Gucci campaigns were pretty extra, in terms of her talking points and looks. But for Joker she’s stuck to calmly confirming her engagement and upcoming album in interviews, and black ensembles in classic silhouettes for wardrobe. The craziest elements she’s offered so far are a Philip Treacy fascinator and bleached eyebrows. Call it the steadying effect of true love, I guess? That or Gaga is in her demure era. And so it is with her latest appearance on the Netflix show What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates. The Truth or Consequences? episode explores “preserving truth in an era of misinformation,” so Gaga (in another black outfit and her naturally-hued brows are back!) weighed in on why she didn’t weigh in on the rumor early in her career that she was a man:
Lady Gaga opened up about facing rumors that she “was a man” in her early 20s.
The pop star, in an appearance on “What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates,” told the billionaire host that the rumors “went all over the world” as she was on the road for touring or promoting her records.
She noted “imagery” on the internet “that had been doctored” of her at the time.
“They were like, ‘You know, there’s this rumor that you’re a man. Like, what do you have to say about that?’” Gaga said.
She continued, “The reason I didn’t answer the question was because I didn’t feel like a victim with that lie.”
Gaga added that she thought about kids who might be facing similar comments that would “think a public figure like me would feel shame.”
“It’s like sometimes, I guess what I’m saying, is I’ve been in situations where fixing a rumor was not in the best interest of — I thought of like the well-being of other people,” she said.
“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.”
…Gaga, in her recent interview with Gates, declared that people assume that her performances are “not real,” but she sees them as the “most real thing” you’ll see about her.
She added, “That is so much more real than all of the rumors that are designed to orbit me to gain more clicks.”
This was a really thoughtful, nuanced response from Gaga. Starting with “I didn’t feel like a victim with that lie.” That’s always an effective tactic for taking the sting out of an intended insult — to flip the script by owning it in a way, thus eliminating the negativity. And I was impressed to hear how much she was thinking about her fans, right from the beginning. At the same time, with her comments on how fixing the rumor isn’t always the best solution, Gaga really made it sound like that’s a constant presence in her life. That every little thing gets scrutinized and evaluated for all possible ramifications. And boy, that must be exhausting. And inhibiting. I appreciate her discussing her thought process behind it now. Joker: Folie à Deux comes out October 4, and the first single off her new album is set to drop the next day. Everything’s coming up Gaga!
“People assume […] that my performance is what’s not real. But to me, that’s the most real thing that you’ll see about me.”
Lady Gaga talks about how she's handled misinformation in her career in What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates. Now playing. pic.twitter.com/legQm24FEA
— Netflix (@netflix) September 18, 2024
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- Lady Gaga during ‘Joker folie a deux’ red Carpet – The 81st Venice International Film Festival, Venice, Italy 04 Sept 2024,Image: 904760849, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Maria Laura Antonelli / AGF Foto / Avalon
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- Lady Gaga, Michael Polansky during ‘Joker folie a deux’ red Carpet – The 81st Venice International Film Festival, Venice, Italy 04 Sept 2024,Image: 904761069, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Maria Laura Antonelli / AGF Foto / Avalon
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- News – Joker: Folie a Deux – Red Carpet – The 81st Venice International Film Festival Lady Gaga and Michael Polansky attend the Joker: Folie a Deux red carpet during the 81st Venice International Film Festival at Sala Grande on September 04, 2024 in Venice, Italy.,Image: 904801281, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Cinzia Camela / LiveMedia / Avalon
Photos credit: Rob Liggins/Netflix, Aissaoui Nacer/Backgrid, Maria Laura Antonelli / AGF Foto / Avalon and via Instagram
That was a beautiful, intelligent response and really resonates with me. I like to think that, if I were in her position, this is what I would’ve done.
But she did it during a time when these kinds of issues, and the trans community, were much less seen and heard. It’s so much more impressive to me that she didn’t jump to correct the narrative when honestly I think 99% of women in her position would have, without thinking and just from a position of immediate shame. I think she’s the real deal and I’m so happy she remains such a powerful and respected figure today.
I remember her interview with Anderson Cooper, and he asks about it, and her response is something like, “ maybe I do (have a male appendage)? Would it be so terrible?”
I was so blown away that at that early point in her career she had the courage to not defend against it. People were really using the rumor to attack her, and she just shrugged.
While casually sucking on ice cubes. It’s my favorite Lady Gaga interview “Why the hell am I going to waste my time putting out a press release about whether I have a penis or not? My fans don’t care and neither do I.”
As someone who was also believed a boy/man for all my life, I really, really appreciate her response here.
And it’s nice she thought about others before herself. She’s showing so much empathy and a neat thought process here.
Well done lady Gaga 👏
The more you deny something, the more people believe it. The more you show that it bothers you, the more people use it against you. The best response to any rumor, insult, or baseless accusation is a blank face and ‘So?’ Then walk away.
Everything about Joker: Folie à Deux promotion has become low-key. There was so much buzz about this movie last year and right up until Venice and Nothing, and the movie is coming out in two weeks. Phoenix has done nothing, and Gaga did one other interview and this, but she seems more excited about her new album. The reviews are lukewarm, but the promotion for this compared to the last Joker movie is 180. I’m starting to wonder if the studio thinks it’s going to flop, so they don’t want to put any more money into it.
I’ve never understood why more celebrities don’t respond to inappropriate comments about their orientation or sexuality this way. I often get mistaken for lesbian and sometimes trans by both straight and gay people. The comments are usually positive and sometimes negative. I’m always super flattered. And I truthfully say that I aim for lesbian chic.
I remember her addressing the rumors in a similar fashion at the time. And I can’t for the life of me remember who it was, but there was also a male celebrity sometime over the past handful of years who had a similar response to rumors that he was gay. (Taron Edgerton, maybe?) Something along the lines of “I’m not, but I don’t want to push back on it because I don’t think being gay is some horrid charge I need to defend myself from.”
I am a fan of Gaga but i was friends with make-up artists, camera operators, and video directors at the time of those rumors and one was directing a big video of hers and reported that she asked that there be a lot of close-up crotch shots. That doesn’t take away from how she publicly handled the situation, just that, of course it affected her.
Reportedly, late Willie Garson said in an interview that he was not gay, but he’d never refuted the rumour born out of his character in Sex and the City bc he felt that, by doing so, gay community would feel less represented by the show or himself. It wasn’t only a decade after SATC ended that he settled the matter. Hugh Jackman and his ex wife also had a very humorous way to address this kind of questions. Truth is: No one should care enough as to be inquiring.