Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Lady Gaga Explains Heartfelt Reason She Never Denied Rumors That She's Secretly A 'Man'

Lady Gaga
What's Next? The Future with Bill Gates/Netflix

The Oscar winner opened up to Bill Gates about how she decided not to shut down internet rumors that she was secretly a hermaphrodite or trans so that her young fans 'wouldn't feel shame.'

Lady Gaga gave a poignant explanation about why she refused to deny some early speculation she was trans.

In the "Truth and Consequences?" episode of Netflix's What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates, the "Born This Way" singer reflected on the 2011 rumor about her gender identity that culminated in a CNN interview with Anderson Cooper that year.


At the time, Cooper had asked:

"There was a rumor that you had a male appendage, that you were a hermaphrodite and you joked about it on the stage last night."
"A lot of artists would immediately put out some sort of statement saying, ‘This is absolutely not true’. You have fun with it.”

The singer replied:

“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.”

Here is a clip of the February 2011 CNN interview.

@tanaslaughter

Lady Gaga talks about penis rumour, February 2011 #ladygaga #popculture #2010s

In the new Netflix series, Gaga shared her retroactive insight with Gates about the rumors.

She began:

“I went all over the world. I traveled for tours and for promoting my records and in almost every interview I sat in they said … there was this imagery on the internet that had been doctored."
"They’d say, ‘There’s rumors that you’re a man. What do you have to say about that?’"

The segment played vintage clips featuring several interviews all pressing Gaga about being trans, including one in which she denied the rumor about being "part man, part woman." She told Barbara Walters that she liked to "portray herself in a very androgynous way."

In retrospect, Gaga explained why she had refused to dignify the trans rumors with a formal response.

She told Gates:

“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?'”

Gaga, who is an advocate for LGBTQ+ equality and activism, added:

“I’ve been in situations where fixing a rumour was not in the best interest of the well-being of other people."
"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.”

She noted how people see an artist like herself and assume that their performance is what's not real.

"But to me, that's the most real thing that you'll see about me," she clarified.

"That is so much more real than all of the rumors that are designed to orbit me to gain more clicks."

You can watch her response here.

Fans were reminded of why they loved Lady Gaga so much.










In 2012, Lady Gaga launched her Born This Way Foundation–named after her 2011 single and album of the same name. The non-profit organization was created to support young people.

As an LGBTQ+ ally, she vocally opposed former Republican President Donald Trump's anti-trans policies, including his military transgender ban.

Gaga also joined other celebrities who condemned Trump and spread the #WontBeErased campaign on social media following a 2018 leaked memo from his administration in which he planned to exclude transgender Americans from the legal definition of sex.

In addition to her music career, with her eighth studio album expected to drop in February 2025, Gaga continues acting in films.

She will star as Harleen "Lee" Quinzel /Harley Quinn in the upcoming is-it-or-is-it-not a musical movie, Joker:Folie à Deux, the sequel to 2019's Joker featuring Joaquin Phoenix in the titular role.

More from Entertainment/music

Jesse Watters
Fox News

Jesse Watters Dragged After Adding Another Mind-Boggling Rule For 'Real Men'

Fox News host Jesse Watters, who is apparently an authority of what it means to be a manly man, gave jazz hands to make a point about how "real men" should or shouldn't wave.

The target of his ridicule was Tim Walz, the enthusiastic Democratic Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate who often greets the public by raising both hands in the air to wave.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of crowd at town hall and Rep. Mike Flood
@MorePerfectUS/X; KETV NewsWatch 7

GOP Rep. Goes Viral For His Response To Crowd Chanting 'Tax The Rich' At Town Hall

Nebraska Republican Representative Mike Flood was criticized following his incredulous response to a crowd that chanted "Tax the rich!" during a town hall meeting.

The Columbus High School auditorium hosted the town hall on Tuesday evening, drawing "nearly 380" attendees, according to local network KETV Omaha. The event was lively, with Flood facing both sharp criticism over Trump administration policies and some appreciation for showing up in person.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Awkward Typo In Elon Musk's Bizarre 'Education Department' Trump Meme Is A Total Self-Own

Billionaire Elon Musk was widely mocked after he celebrated President Donald Trump's executive order to begin to dismantle the Department of Education (DOE) by posting a meme of Trump at the department's grave, only for an awkward misspelling to get all the attention.

Polling indicates that eliminating the Education Department is largely unpopular, with 60% of registered voters opposing the move, according to a Quinnipiac University survey conducted March 6-10. Support stands at 33%, with opposition particularly strong among Democrats—98% oppose it, while just 1% support it.

Keep ReadingShow less
JB Pritzker; Donald Trump
Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Dem Governor Reveals Trump's Bonkers Demand In Exchange For Equipment During COVID

Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker revealed during a speech this week that he clashed with President Donald Trump during the first Trump administration after Trump promised necessary medical equipment during the COVID pandemic on the condition that Pritzker praise him publicly.

Five years ago, the United States was grappling with the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country had entered shutdowns that had severe economic consequences, leaving businesses and industries on the brink of collapse.

Keep ReadingShow less
Scrabble tiles spelling the word scam
Scam spelled with scrabbles on a wooden table

People Break Down How They Realized An Entire Industry Was A Total Scam

We unfortunately live in a world where scams are on the rise.

Thankfully, some of them are pretty easy to detect, such as an automated call from the IRS telling you a warrant is out for your arrest, or an email claiming to be from Amazon or the USPS asking for your credit card information, only to look closer and see the email address is a yahoo account.

Keep ReadingShow less