Having weathered some flack over noticeable weight gain during her Born This Way Tour, Lady Gaga revealed that she’s been struggling with bulimia and anorexia since she was 15. But in typical Gaga fashion, she’s turned her own struggles into an empowering movment, inspired in part by her anti-bullying Born This Way Foundation.
The Lady posted this pic of herself, sans makeup, wigs, prosthetic cheekbones, 12-inch heels and haute couture space globes on her social media site, Little Monsters, with the caption, “Bulimia and anorexia since I was 15.” With another pic she announced the start of her Body Revolution 2013, “an extension” of her Born This Way Foundation.
She wrote, “Be brave and celebrate with us your ‘perceived flaws,’ as society tells us. May we make our flaws famous, and thus redefine the heinous.”
The response has so far been enormous, with Gaga acolytes from around the world uploading pictures and sharing personal stories of anorexia, bulimia, cutting, dwarfism, artificial limbs, and so forth. The Mother then took to this forum to express her gratitude:
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Seeing you post photos of things on your bodies and in your minds that you feel society tells you you should be ashamed of. You are showing them you have no shame. You are brave, strong, and accepting not only of yourself, but of others through your experiences. You are proud to be born this way, and brave in your vulnerability with this community. Watching you all create a safe space online for people to be compassionate is the greatest gift you could ever give me. My weight/loss/gain since i was child has tormented me. No amount of help has ever healed my pain about it. But YOU have.
Whenever Lady Gaga does anything it’s front page news, but this might be her most daring stunt yet. Though she’s always purported to be just like her millions of fans, being bullied as a kid and what have you, by stepping out from behind that larger-than-life persona she’s revealed insecurities that many of us would try to conceal. And by opening up a public forum in which others can discuss their own physical and emotional scars, she’s truly driven her message of acceptance home.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
hmmm, but why the posing tricks like that flattering camera angle, and arching her back making her ass appear more toned. actually, it appears she cares rather too much whether she’s perceived as fat.
don’t justify yourself; just be. that’s true liberation.
petensfo
@ Prince of Snark, I actually saw several other photos, side-poses, etc… so I think
this photo choice is actually Queerty’s.
I’m mixed about the whole announcement… not entirely certain as to why.
The final outcome will likely be positive.
Gigi Gee
@PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID: Well you’ve certainly lived up to your moniker. Whether this is 100% legit or a clever marketing ploy it can’t hurt to draw attention to the fact that North Americans are obsessed with body image.
Cam
The thing I’ve always liked about her is that she has never lied and used that BS Hollywood line of “Oh, I just have a fast metabolism.”
She would say quite clearly when asked how she stayed in such good shape “I don’t eat, but I have to do that for my job, don’t imitate it”.
Rather than every other actress like Kiera Knightly that lies, says they have a fast metabolism, and then goes on to list all the foods that they supposedly eat like Pizza and Ice-cream for the next 15 min. of the interview.
ScaryRussianHeather
That’s a wig/fall.
Her message would be more effective if she admitted that drinking, using drugs and starving herself for FAME was “the problem”. Everybody knows that clean eating will result in a proper body but it’s “hard”. I bet she’s still eating junk food and drinking, though, even though she could have a personal chef FFS. Mentioning “the boyfriend” wasn’t helpful either. He should be irrelevant if you’re taking charge of your life. OH wait. Boyfriend again . What happened to that bisexual thing?
Gotjee
Every time some steaming turd of smarmy inanity rolls out of her wordhole, I can stand her less and less. She comes across as extremely disingenuous and obnoxious. Also, Little Monsters are probably the dumbest and most irritating stanbase in history.
shle896
Here we go again. Gaga paints herself as the victim. It’s growing as tired as the ridiculous Halloween costumes she trolls around in. Please, make it stop!
Niall
@shle896: In this case, how did she paint herself as the victim when the media have actually attacked her on her weight gain when she’s actually not fat? The length at which stupid people would go to discredit someone they don’t like. Pathetic
@Gotjee: That hate must make you feel so much better. Saddo. And yeah keep on generalizing an entire group of people when you probably have never met even half of them. And despite the fact that you can’t stand her, you’d think ignoring an article about her would be the sensible thing to do.
Cee
Why don’t I believe her? I usually don’t question these things, but for some reason I just tend to not believe her story.
TommyG
The message is good (i.e encouraging people to love their bodies more)
but I wonder how many her little monsters read this and then proceed to bash celebrities like Christina Aguilera or Adele about their weight. and believe me, it happens A LOT. Gaga makes catchy music but her fanbase is pretty intolerant given Gaga’s message of acceptance.
this whole thing kind of reminds me of when people called tyra banks fat so she proceeded to parade around in a bikini going “ohhh look how skinny i actually am. kiss my fat ass”
Rockery
@Gotjee:
Agree 100%. She is just so fake now. It’s stunt after stunt, I just don’t believe anything that she does or says anymore. I think it’s just for fame and sales
massprince
she’s a pig and tries to find an excuse not to lose weight.