Why Loving People ‘So Much’ Has Become Difficult for Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga — the name precedes the human. She is a living icon. The pop phenomenon is a source of inspiration to so many. On top of her influential music and moving on-screen performances, she is a catalyst for social change who has developed the Born This Way Foundation to support youth. Lady Gaga is the definition of fame — a walking personification of stardom.
Gaga asked for creativity to be the center of her career. Though she wanted to make money via her art, she did not ask for the fame that followed suit, as she explained to Jamie Lee Curtis for Variety’s Actors on Actors. And, as a result of her image, her icon status, her global presence, she has had to sacrifice a piece of who she is; she has lost a certain ability to connect with others in her day-to-day life.
Lady Gaga talks about fame and human interaction
Gaga expects that people look at her life and assume she yearned for fame (based presumably on previous, spotlight-grabbing career choices). However, she could only imagine being famous in this way — as a creative, as a performer, as a singer, as an actor. She would not give up the passion at the heart of her fame to be famous for another reason. Yet, she agrees with Curtis when it comes to how isolating fame can be. Fame has made loving people difficult for Gaga. She said:
“I think the hardest thing for me is that I love people so much. And, it is very hard to not be able to engage with people in a real and honest way. Because, they either want something from me, or they see me as something that I simply am not.”
Gaga | Variety’s Actors on Actors
Gaga goes on to explain that her purpose is not to be a representation of celebrity; she is not a human in need of admiration, but a conduit for conveying emotions via music — for helping people heal and find happiness.
Lady Gaga is not a ‘goddess…dropped down from the sky to sing pop music’
Lady Gaga told Curtis:
“I am not some goddess that dropped down from the sky to sing pop music. I’m not some extra incredible human person that needs to be told how wonderful they are all day, and kissed…I don’t need any of that. Truly, my purpose on this earth is to make people happy and heal people through music…To create fantasies that allow people to not just escape, but to see that there is the potential for magic in life.”
Gaga | Variety’s Actors on Actors
Gaga is here to heal people through her art. Now, she has to take to the streets in a disguise — which she defined as both “liberating” and “infuriating” at the same time — to enjoy herself. She hopes that people know she would love nothing more than to “have a normal exchange” with them.
