Lady Gaga recently opened up about why she decided not to shut down any gender identity rumors in an interview on “What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates.” While the singer-songwriter has talked about this before, she provided further insights into her decision to leave the questions unanswered. Lady Gaga emphasized how fixing a rumor is not always in the best interest of people who look up to her. This is the reason she decided to make use of the gender identity rumors to create a “disruptive point” instead.
Lady Gaga tells Bill Gates about rumors of her being a man
In an interview with Bill Gates, Lady Gaga got candid about others speculating about her gender. The rumor mill claimed that she was a man. In the episode titled “Truth or Consequences?,” the singer and tech magnate discussed tackling misinformation and preserving truth in an era of conspiracy theories.
The rumors began early on in her career, but the “House of Gucci” actress never paid heed to them. Lady Gaga stated, “When I was in my early 20s, there was a rumor that I was a man.” In almost every interview she went for, people asked her if she had anything to say regarding the unfounded rumors.
She further explained to Gates how she decided to navigate the misinformation and use it to her advantage. Lady Gaga decided to use her gender identity rumors to spread thought-provoking messages among her fans. She capitalized on the opportunity to be disruptive, noting, “People, I think, assume that someone like me that performs, that my performance is what’s not real…”
However, the “Joker: Folie à Deux” actress pointed out that her performance is probably the most real thing about her. She further clarified, “That is so much more real than all of the rumors that are designed to orbit me, to gain more clicks.”
Previously, in an interview in 2011, the singer-songwriter addressed the gender identity rumors surrounding her. She told Anderson Cooper of CNN, “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 p*n*s?” Lady Gaga exclaimed how her fans didn’t care and neither did she whether she was rumored to be a man.
