Lady Gaga Says Ambiguity About 00s Transgender Rumours Was To Keep Trans Kids Safe
In with billionaire Bill Gates for his new Netflix series, Lady Gaga has addressed decades-old rumours that she’s trans. While it’s something that most LGBTQIA+ people or allies would know today as harmful and in extremely bad taste, in the noughties it was a topic commonly thrown around that Gaga was ‘born a man’, or had a penis.
鈥淚n my early 20s there was a rumour that I was a man.鈥� she said.
鈥淚 travelled for tours, promoting records, and almost every interview I sat in 鈥� they were like 鈥榳ell there鈥檚 this rumour that you鈥檙e a man, what do you have to say about that?鈥欌��
The rumours first surfaced in the late 2000s, peaking after a performance at the Glastonbury Festival. Speculation around led to a wave of online theories, with some fans claiming she had a penis.聽
Rather than addressing the allegations head-on, Gaga took a more humorous approach, famously responding to with the iconic line: 鈥淢aybe I do. Would it be so terrible?鈥澛�
Lady Gaga “concerned” about the impact young trans people
However, during her conversation with Gates, Gaga revealed a more strategic and empathetic reason for her silence.
鈥淭he reason I didn鈥檛 answer the question was because I didn鈥檛 feel like a victim with that lie,鈥� she said.聽
Gaga went on to explain that she was concerned about the impact her denial might have on young people facing similar accusations.
鈥淲hat about a kid who is being accused of that, who would think that a public figure like me would feel shame?鈥澛�
鈥淚鈥檝e been in situations where fixing a rumour was not in the best interest of the wellbeing of other people, 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.鈥�
Gaga’s ambiguity a ‘way to keep trans and intersex fans safe’
Gaga鈥檚 ambiguous answers to these persistent rumours were a way to keep her trans and intersex fans safe, she clarified.
In that 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper she pushed back against his questioning, retorting, 鈥淲hy the hell am I going to waste my time and give a press release about whether I have a penis? My fans don鈥檛 care and neither do I.鈥�
In 2009, questioned a clearly exasperated Gaga about her lyrics, 鈥淚鈥檓 bluffin with my muffin鈥�, to which she replied 鈥淚 do have a really big donkey dick.鈥�
In response to questions, Gaga鈥檚 manager told American at the time 鈥淭his is completely ridiculous.”
Gaga later leaned in to the rumours, developing a drag king persona called , complete with packer.
While 鈥榯ransvestigations鈥� scrutinising the bodies of celebrities have become a hobby for some internet users, the flurry of speculation around Lady Gaga鈥檚 biological sex was unprecedented for its time.聽
Then, as now, a lack of understanding about the differences between intersex and trans experiences had the potential to paint gender diverse people as duplicitous, rather than a normal human variation.
Lady Gaga interview reignites discussions about misinformation in media about transgender people
The interview, which comes ahead of Gaga鈥檚 upcoming role in Joker: Folie 脿 Deux and the release of her new single, has reignited discussions about gender and misinformation in the media.聽
鈥淧eople assume that someone like me that performs, that my performance is what鈥檚 not real, but to me that鈥檚 the most real thing that you鈥檒l see about me鈥�
