Lady Gaga on Why She Didn’t Refute Rumors Claiming She’s a Man: ‘I Didn’t Feel Like a Victim’

Lady Gaga has finally spoken out about old rumors that claimed she was born a man. During an appearance on Netflix’s What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates, she addressed the speculation directly, telling Gates she never felt the need to respond because she “didn’t feel like a victim.”

“When I was in my early 20s there was a rumor that I was a man,” Lady Gaga told Gates in the episode. “I went all over the world. I traveled for tours and for promoting my records and almost every interview I sat in — there was this imagery on the internet that had been doctored — they were like, ‘There’s rumors that you’re a man. What do you have to say about that?’”

She continued, “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? I’ve been in situations where fixing a rumor 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.”

Gaga, who is starring opposite Joaquin Phoenix in upcoming sequel Joker: Folie à Deux, added, “I’ve been used to lies being printed about me since I was 20 years old. I’m a performer. I think it’s kind of funny.”

In 2011, the singer famously shut down a question about the rumors during interview with Anderson Cooper on CNN, saying, “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.” 

Lady Gaga plays Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux, which picks up two years after the original Joker. It finds Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) spending time at Arkham, a psych ward, while awaiting trial following his savage killing of talk show host Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro). As he struggles with his dual identity, he meets his love match in Harleen “Lee” Quinzel, a.k.a. Harley Quinn. The film features the pair singing together, as heard in a recent trailer.

On the music side, Lady Gaga will release the first single from her currently-untitled LP, commonly referred to as LG7, in October. Gaga recorded the album, her first since Chromatica, at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La recording studio in Malibu. According to Vogue, she’s spent most of the year working not only on the upcoming pop album but also a “surprise project” that has been similarly scarcely detailed.

“There’s a lot of pain associated with this adventure, and when I start to explore that pain, it can bring out another side to my artistry,” Gaga explained about her creative process at the moment to Vogue. “When I’m here at this studio, I’m relaxed, and I am able to face my demons, and what’s remarkable is… that’s the music. I’m able to hear it back.”