What album of Lady Gaga's tanked? How did she really feel about her
collaboration with R. Kelly? What did she say publicly about her ex?
In 2014, Page Six reported that Lady Gaga had shelved the music video for her lyrically
dubious R. Kelly duet, "Do What U Want (With My Body)" due to a variety of rumored factors.
The video's narrative reportedly depicted a scenario in which Kelly — playing a
doctor — concluded that he was going to get Gaga — his patient — pregnant while unconscious. On her
website, she claimed the video had been delayed due to time constraints. But was that the truth?
Adding to the song and video's controversy were accusations of sexual misconduct against director
Terry Richardson, which he shrugged off as being a witch hunt. Making matters worse
were the dozens of girls who accused R. Kelly of sexual assault. In 2021,
Kelly was found guilty of crimes associated with these allegations.
Gaga circled back to the controversy on Twitter in 2019 when the documentary
Surviving R. Kelly was airing. Describing the song as happening during a dark time when she
was struggling to process the trauma of her own sexual assault, the star apologized for
her poor judgment and shared her intent to remove the track from streaming platforms.
Lady Gaga eventually dealt with the overall mishandling of her album ARTPOP.
According to Pitchfork, it sold less than a fourth of the copies Born this
Way sold in its first week. An Interscope Records spokesperson
responded to rumors that Gaga's promotional campaign could amount to a $25 million
loss for the company, along with potential layoffs, calling both claims ridiculous and untrue
Still, something was rotten enough in the Haus of Gaga for the star to issue an apology.
Following the delayed release of her initial two music videos from the album,
Mother Monster posted a statement of remorse to fans on her website,
which appeared to blame people who had betrayed her by mismanaging her time and health.
She added that she was not well enough to control the damage while recovering from hip surgery.
Lady Gaga showed up to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards looking like Leatherface's
hipster sister in a dress made of raw beef. Animal welfare organization PETA
shared their disgust at the dress, which, as they reminded fans, was made of,
"the decomposing flesh of a tormented animal who didn't want to die."
Gaga's meat dress had caused a bit of a stink — literally so,
as it may or may not have also legitimately rotted during the event.
In the finest non-apology of her career, Gaga kind of said sorry for the beefy ensemble while
on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. During the appearance, she explained she meant no
disrespect to vegans with the outfit, and that it was intended as an art piece of, quote,
"many interpretations." All of which sounded vague, including this line:
"If we don't fight for our rights,
pretty soon we're going to have as much rights as the meat on our bones."
Gaga alluded to the meat dress in "The Prime Rib of America" speech she made on the issue of the
United States military discriminating against LGBTQIA+ people. She said,
"Equality is the prime rib of America. Equality is the prime rib of what we stand for as a nation.
And I don't get to enjoy the greatest cut of meat that my country has to offer."
"I want to give my fans everything that they deserve,
and they do not deserve sweatpants and sneakers. They deserve the real me all the time."
Whatever was going on with Lady Gaga while she was making ARTPOP,
she was at least able to self-reflect. With the song "Dope," she addressed how her marijuana
addiction had been ruinous on her personal life and well-being. The superstar opened up about
her drug dependency issue while discussing the album on Elvis Duran and The Z100 Morning Show.
"I just want young kids to know that you actually can become addicted to it."
She shared that at one time she would smoke up to
15-20 marijuana cigarettes a day in a bid to numb her body.
"And it's ultimately related to anxiety coping, and it's a form of self-medication."
She explained the result in an ARTPOP track-by-track commentary with SiriusXM.
Unfortunately, the original discussion has been lost,
but multiple sources have cited the interview and have quoted Gaga.
The singer said that at the time, she was in a state of withdrawal,
which made it hard for her to articulate herself to the people she cared about, adding,
"So, I wrote this song as an, 'I'm sorry,' to all the people in my life that I really love.
Sorry to my fans, to my boyfriend, to my parents,
and I sing at the end, 'that I need you more than dope' — and that's the truth."
Sometimes, Lady Gaga's apologies are wholeheartedly earned. But one occasion in
which she arguably didn't need to say sorry to anyone was when she had to cancel the European
leg of her "Joanne" tour due to chronic pain. On Twitter, Gaga had revealed that she suffers
from the chronic illness Fibromyalgia, which can cause a variety of health challenges.
She also expressed her wish to help raise awareness about the condition.
"Many people don't know what it is, and we need to all get together and figure this out."
Gaga initially postponed the 18 European performances in 2017
and addressed her heartbreak at having to do so in an open letter to fans on her Instagram, writing,
"I am looking forward to touring again soon, but I have to be with my doctors
right now so I can be strong and perform for you all for the next 60 years or more."
The star resumed the tour a few months later but
was then forced to cancel the remaining performances in 2018
on the advice of her doctors due to the severe pain she was continuing to experience.
In a statement shared on behalf of Gaga on Twitter, the star was described as
being extremely sorry for the decision. She signed off on the statement by expressing
how devastated she was and that she'd be back on tour soon enough, writing,
"But for now. I need to put myself and my well-being first."
If you're in a monogamous relationship, then you're likely well-versed in the sanctity
of one golden rule: Don't go on about your ex. For whatever reason, Lady Gaga
decided to take a sledgehammer to that rule by publicly reflecting on her love for ex-partner
Taylor Kinney while her current boyfriend, Michael Polansky, was in the audience watching her.
Gaga made the public declaration while speaking at a Joe Biden rally in Pennsylvania, saying,
"I was engaged to a man from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I know, it didn't work out."
"I loved him so much. It just did not work out.”
It seems as though her brain had a chance to catch up with her mouth,
as she was soon apologizing for the statement.
"To my boyfriend that's here tonight, I'm so sorry I had to do the whole 'Pennsylvania and
I dated a guy here' thing. I love you so much." Gaga and Kinney broke up in 2016 after almost
five years. In the singer's documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two, the star alluded to
problems in the relationship when she fessed up to fighting with him. She confessed to the camera,
"My threshold for bulls--- with men is just— I don't have one anymore.
In relationships, you have to move together."
By this point, you hopefully don't need the full, seemingly endless, rundown of Lady Gaga's feud
with Madonna. At the heart of the beef were criticisms that Gaga's LGBTQIA+ anthem "Born
This Way'' had an uncanny resemblance to Madonna songs, including "Vogue" and "Express Yourself."
The comparisons clearly didn't sit well with Gaga — a self-proclaimed Madonna fan who even
suggested to Jay Leno on The Tonight Show that the queen of pop herself had emailed
her in support of the song. This was strongly disputed by Madonna, whose spokespeople denied
the existence of said email. A few months later, Gaga wasn't pleased when she was questioned by NME
about the similarities between the two songs. She expressed her disdain by using the r-word, saying,
"Why would I try to put out a song and think I'm getting one over on everybody? That's r-------."
A day later, Gaga promptly issued an apology for the word in a statement.
Calling the slur a mistake and any hurt caused unintentional, she said,
"I consider it part of my life's work and music to push the boundaries of love and acceptance.
My apologies for not speaking thoughtfully."
Proudly boasting a full-body sleeve of ink, it made total sense that the singular look
of model Rick Genest — also known as Zombie Boy — would attract the eye of Lady Gaga.
The star featured the radical-looking cool boy in the music video for "Born This Way,"
a song that celebrates being "other." Sadly, Genest died in 2018 after falling three floors
from his balcony. A year later, the coroner's report verified that his death was accidental.
In a since-deleted tweet, Gaga shared her sadness about the death of her late friend but also spoke
about it in reference to a suicide. She urged her fans to focus on mental health and wrote,
"If you are suffering, call a friend or family today. We must save each other."
While it’s always worth reminding people about that sentiment,
it also wasn't accurate since the model's cause of death hadn't been confirmed yet. Luckily,
Gaga wasn’t above acknowledging her mistake, so she rectified it right away. She tweeted,
"I apologize if I spoke too soon as there was no witnesses or evidence to support any
conclusion for the cause of his death. I in no way meant to draw an unjust conclusion."
If you think back on the neverending virtual-meeting hellscape of 2020 and
shudder, then you might empathize with the micro-nightmare Lady Gaga found herself in
when Jimmy Fallon attempted to FaceTime her during an episode.
In the clip from The Tonight Show,
Fallon was shown excitedly attempting to call the singer, who appeared caught off-guard.
“I can't Jimmy. I, uh, I can't talk right now.
It’s um, I-I-I'm really sorry, it's just like, a really weird time."
When Fallon attempted to hold the screen up to the camera capturing the moment,
poor Gaga was further frazzled, asking,
"Am I on TV?"
This time, Gaga wasn't the only one apologizing.
"Sorry, you're on TV, I apologize."
Luckily for everyone, the two were able to laugh the whole awkward mishap off afterwards
when she returned to The Tonight Show — successfully this time! — to say that she
was sorry for the missed connection and to discuss an announcement.
"Thank you so much for, uh, honoring your word and talking to me today."
"Like I'm so sorry!"
She added,
"We weren't quite ready yet, and I really appreciate you being so nice about it."
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