Lady Gaga’s Belly Steals The Super Bowl Halftime Show
Lady Gaga took the stage for the Super Bowl LI Halftime Show, but her belly took over social media. Gaga’s 13-minute performance included a medley of some of her biggest hits, including “Poker Face,” “Telephone,” and “Born This Way,” but it was overshadowed when she changed into a half- shirt that showed off her bare belly.
Lady Gaga is not overweight by any means, but in today’s body conscious world her bare belly was buzzworthy. While some football fans made fun and body-shamed the singer, Gaga’s belly proved to be empowering to other viewers, who praised the singer for not being afraid to show off her real life body.
The Palm Beach praised Lady Gaga’s empowering belly baring, noting that while Lady Gaga is not overweight, she should be embraced for showing women that they don’t have to have the body type of Kylie Jenner or Bella Hadid. But others took to social media to slam the singer for daring to show off her real life belly.
Lady Gaga needs to work on her abs, all i can look at is her belly flop around ?
— Bryan Zehe (@bz2298) February 6, 2017
Loved Lady Gaga itty bitty belly hanging over. That's confidence and acceptance on a whole nother level. #realinanyshape #yougogirl.
— Ana B (@Artamuse) February 6, 2017
Loved how @ladygaga embraced her body image tonight. #youarebeautifuljusthowyouare
— Emily Blackmon (@emmmaebest) February 6, 2017
LADY GAGA GOT UP THERE WITH HER REAL BODY WITHOUT A PERFECTLY FLAT STOMACH OR AIRBRUSH I LOVE HER SO MUCH
— Emma Kate (@emmakate_______) February 6, 2017
Lady Gaga previously shared that she was working out ahead of her Super Bowl stint. In January, Gaga shared an Instagram photo of herself holding a bridge pose while using a resistance band around her thighs as her trainer looked on. The singer captioned the snap with, “Training. Every day all day #superbowl #halftime.”
Lady Gaga’s halftime gig featured the singer flying through the air while suspended by a harness. There was also a backdrop of 300 colorful drones as Gaga opened her show by singing a few bars of “God Bless America” and “This Land Is Your Land.” The Grammy-winning star then recited the last half of the Pledge of Allegiance, before she descended from a platform and began a medley of her biggest hits.
Gaga’s sparkly costume was created by her longtime pal Donatella Versace, according to the Daily Mail. Gaga wore a one-piece getup with matching boots before quick changing into the belly baring ensemble toward the end of her medley.
Gaga probably wasn’t planning to have people focusing on her belly when she took the stage for Super Bowl LI. According to the New York Post, ahead of the show, Lady Gaga told ABC News’ Michael Strahan that she wanted people to “get lost” in her halftime concert.
“I have an opportunity with this performance to show a different part of this country that those who think that they are so different from me and my fans — to see that our hearts are really the same,” Lady Gaga said. “It’s like the mecca for performers. We have 13 minutes with the world.”
Lady Gaga also revealed that she carefully studied every halftime show of the past, singling out Michael Jackson’s 1993 performance as her all-time favorite.
After her Super Bowl stint, Lady Gaga reportedly burst into tears back by the locker rooms, but it had nothing to do with the comments about her belly. An insider told E! News that Gaga was emotional—in a good way—over her performance, which featured aerial flips and an impromptu hug with a female fan in the audience.
“She was so happy with her performance,” the source told E! News. “It was everything and more than what she expected. She is so emotional now and so pleased. She thanked everyone involved with this production. She is so kind and thankful to everyone working with her.”
Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime performance marked the second time the singer was part of the big game. Last year, Lady Gaga performed the national anthem at the beginning of the show.
Take a look at the video below to see Lady Gaga talking about her Super Bowl LI performance.
[Featured Image by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]
