Lady Gaga recently released an emotional song and video about campus rape titled “ Till It Happens To You .” Even though the song didn’t chart, it has received a lot of acclaim and has not only received a Grammy nomination, but is expected to garner an Academy Award nomination as well.
Gaga has opened up about being sexually assaulted. Jezebel quotes Mother Monster talking about how she felt.
“Because of the way that I dress, and the way that I’m provocative as a person, I thought I had brought it on myself in some way, that it was my fault.”
Many have praised Lady Gaga for being so open about what she had experienced. However, there are also some who think she is an absolute hypocrite. A petition on Change.org is calling Lady Gaga out for alleged hypocrisy.
“Lady Gaga has been making the rounds telling everybody she is a victim of rape in order to promote her song ‘Till It Happens To You’ and make herself the martyr for all rape victims. I am not here to decide if she was actually raped or not. But I am here to call her a hypocrite.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgYBA2h1xDU
A leaked portion of the video for “Do What You Want” features alleged (but not officially charged) child sexual assaulter and R&B singer R. Kelly playing a doctor “feeling” Lady Gaga up and, in another clip of the video that hasn’t been seen by the public, telling her, “I’m putting you under, and when you wake up, you’re going to be pregnant.”
The video also features Lady Gaga frolicking around naked as Terry Richardson, a photographer accused of sexual abuse (but never officially charged) takes pictures of her. If that’s not bad enough, the person who created the petition claims to have been raped on the set of the video and then fired for speaking out.
“The video has been described as an advertisement for rape by many websites and it was more than that. Rape actually occurred on the set and I was a victim. I was drugged up on the set (as were some of the female extras) when I thought I was drinking spiked up hot cocoa, which shouldn’t have been allowed in the first place.”
There are a couple of things to keep in mind here. While anybody can see that the video itself has questionable content, they have to remember that just because they read something on the internet doesn’t mean it’s a fact. The person who signed the petition refused to give her (or his?) real name — there may be some legit reasons for this. However, for that reason, especially since there are many “troll” petitions on Change.org, one can’t automatically determine that something bad actually happened on the set.
One also has to remember that the video for “Do What You Want” was never released. It is possible that Lady Gaga realized the video was too offensive. Then again, there have been suggestions that Gaga herself leaked the video. And according to Us Weekly , the reason for not releasing the video had nothing to do with its co-star or the offensive content .
“Everybody at the label actually loved it and it was NOT pulled because of Richardson and R. Kelly. The truth is, Gaga herself didn’t like it. She didn’t love how it turned out and wouldn’t let the label release it,” claimed a source close to Lady Gaga.
Do you think Lady Gaga is being a hypocrite, or are people unnecessarily giving Mother Monster a hard time? Let us know in the comments section.
[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]