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.”

[From HuffPost]

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!





Photos credit: Rob Liggins/Netflix, Aissaoui Nacer/Backgrid, Maria Laura Antonelli / AGF Foto / Avalon and via Instagram