Lady Gaga Is Banned From China But Her Chinese Fans Are Pissed About Her ‘House of Gucci’ Oscar Snub
Lady Gaga had a banner year in 2021, expanding her cosmetics brand and working on a plethora of new and exciting projects. Most notably, Lady Gaga appeared in acclaimed director Ridley Scott’s latest movie, House of Gucci. In the film, the singer and actor portrayed Patrizia Reggiani, the former wife of Gucci fashion house heir Maurizio Gucci. Lady Gaga has earned serious acclaim from fans and critics thanks to her work in House of Gucci, and for some fans, the fact that she wasn’t nominated for an Oscar because of the movie is a major affront.
Lady Gaga went all in for her role in ‘House of Gucci’
Lady Gaga dedicated a lot of time and energy to her performance in House of Gucci. Not only did the actress fully immerse herself into the character of Patrizia Reggiani, speaking with an Italian accent for nine months straight, but she went through an impressive physical transformation as well. She decided that in order to accurately portray the real-life woman, she needed to gain a bit of weight, so she ate extra pasta and bread for several months.
Lady Gaga opened up in a recent interview, detailing her process for the movie: “My mother and father met me as Patrizia a couple times. And they were mostly laughing because my family gets a kick out of my love of artistry.” As Lady Gaga worked on the film, she discovered the downside of completely immersing herself into a character, stating “there’s a downside to committing yourself to a role in that way because it’s an adjustment for everybody around you. Suddenly, you’re not talking to Stefani anymore with an accent. You’re talking to Patrizia Gucci.”
Chinese fans are upset that Lady Gaga didn’t get an Oscar nomination for ‘House of Gucci’
Lady Gaga has received critical acclaim for her performance in House of Gucci, including getting a BAFTA Award nomination, a Golden Globe Award nomination, and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. However, she wasn’t honored with an Academy Award nomination, which has sent a few fans over the edge. According to Insider, after the Oscar nominations were unveiled, fans in China immediately took to social media to protest the snub.
Insider reports that one fan wrote “What were the Oscars thinking? Her performance was amazing. I ‘Gucci’ for you.” The message is that much more inspiring considering that Gucci sounds similar to the Mandarin word for crying. Other social media users were equally inflamed, with another fan writing “The Oscars are not worthy of Queen Gaga. She doesn’t need them.”
Why is Lady Gaga banned from China?
Lady Gaga’s support from her Chinese fans is rather surprising, considering that, according to Insider, the singer has been formally banned from China since 2016. She was first banned from China in 2011, for having “poor taste and vulgar content,” and then again in 2016, after Lady Gaga met with the Dalai Lama to discuss a wide range of topics, from suicide to yoga. Business Insider reports that the Dalai Lama has been exiled from the Communist country of China since 1959, so her meeting with the spiritual leader was viewed very negatively by Chinese leaders.
Lady Gaga has also been edited out of some entertainment content in the years since her ban, including being cut out of the Friends reunion special that aired on HBO Max. In spite of the fact that Chinese authorities don’t like Lady Gaga, it seems that many fans in the country have her back, through it all.
