Was the Lady Gaga character we knew 'different'?

[Kulture Kiari 3,433]

Let's keep it clean. If not, mods delete please.

The Lady Gaga I fell in love with in 2008 was a different persona. She wore crazy outfits. Was really into the LGBQT community. Didnt care about surgery. Literally didnt care much about the money and most importantly, she was FAMOUS, but not a celebrity. She was like one of us who we could connect with. Loved the Fame and her fans. 

2016 Gaga: She's very Hollywood now. No offense, but before the Orlando tragedy, she rarely spoke about the LGBQT community like she used to. Even said she is just a gay supporter. Fillers or not, there has been a change on Gaga's face that does not happen over night. She doesnt like the Fame nor having pictures being taken of her (even tho she stated during The Monster Ball "Take my picture Hollywood, I wanna be a star!") Now, we rarely hear from her, anything she does nowadays is catered mostly for the GP. And lastly, money. The Youtube case going on, her merchandise with Elton John for their respective foundations, and the expensive Meet and Greets she did for ArtRave. 

I get she has said Gaga was just an ego she used to hide behind the aura, but why state multiple times in her early years that Gaga was not a personality, it was who she was. I will obviously stan for her, but I feel her BTW era was just bait to use the Gays to get money. I feel as stupid as when I was in high school: when she wore the Kermit dress and years later the Meat dress, it was to show she was against animals used for fur (there was more to the meat dress, showing that if humans dont defend themselves, they will end up just like animal meat), and years later she was wearing fur; when I was telling my friends, Oh it is just a carcass that shows her creative side. Yeah, right. 

Ending this on a positive note and yall can drag me to the pits of hell afterwards, I will admit Gaga is talented and her messages, fake or not, in her songs have changed me into the strong person I am today. Without her, I would not be here today. Maybe this new attitude was caused by the new people she has been hanging around with, maybe it is a new ego that will be go along with LG5, or maybe this is all just in my head since Ive been stalking her too much awaiting for the release of LG5, who knows? 

Do I want the old Lady Gaga back? 

A huge part of me does, believe me, even if I know it was just a character. But the other part of me understands that she was hurting a lot during the era of the Gaga we knew. Looking at her as a human being and not as a musician or celebrity, I never would want anyone to be hurting inside while pretending to be something else in the surface all for the sake of entertainment or for making fans, who she doesnt even know personally, happy. So Gaga, sorry for this, but I had to rant. Be who you are, even tho us Little Managers judge you way too much, and focus on your new self! Cheers for the new era!

[Dangerous Man 9,245]

People just change in general. I have lots of bffs before but now they're just strangers to me. That's just how life is.

[Kulture Kiari 3,433]

1 minute ago, Dangerous Man said:

People just change in general. I have lots of bffs before but now they're just strangers to me. That's just how life is.

True. I guess I should follow what I always say "Just because theyre celebrities dont mean they aint humans." 

[Swan Heart 7,382]

12 minutes ago, RubberHeartt said:

she was FAMOUS, but not a celebrity.

See, that's something I miss.

[MaryJaneHolland 77,348]

she complicated the gaga/stefani thing so much lately, i'm over it 

i'm gaga

i'm stefani

gaga is a character

i'm gaga and stefani

[The Surrealist 27,470]

9 minutes ago, RubberHeartt said:

Literally didnt care much about the money and most importantly, she was FAMOUS, but not a celebrity.

She didn't care about money, because she had none. Everybody who is famous is also a celebrity.

11 minutes ago, RubberHeartt said:

She was like one of us who we could connect with.

I still can connect to her. She is still very human and caring.

11 minutes ago, RubberHeartt said:

No offense, but before the Orlando tragedy, she rarely spoke about the LGBQT community like she used to.

Why should she? It's not like she i supposed to talk about the LGBQT community every day and she had no new message she could share with the world, no new music which would support the community.

13 minutes ago, RubberHeartt said:

Fillers or not, there has been a change on Gaga's face that does not happen over night

This is the only thing I don't understand about Gaga, but oh well, if she is self-destructive let her be, at least she is pretending to be happy.

14 minutes ago, RubberHeartt said:

I get she has said Gaga was just an ego she used to hide behind the aura, but why state multiple times in her early years that Gaga was not a personality, it was who she was.

Lady Gaga is an exaggerated Stefani Germanotta, it is who she is but it is not entirely her. She has a very layered character. I think she just wants to kill Lady Gaga but her fans are too obsessive so she just goes along and hopes nobody notices that she just grew up.

17 minutes ago, RubberHeartt said:

I never would want anyone to be hurting inside while pretending to be something else in the surface all for the sake of entertainment or for making fans, who she doesnt even know personally, happy.

This is what she is trying to say. Her Lady Gaga persona protects her from being vulnerable and "normal", something most of her fans DON'T expect her to be. That's why she said that Lady Gaga is a collection of what other people expect her to be. She doesn't control that persona anymore and doesn't want to. In reality, Gaga is going back to her roots by singing Rock and Jazz, not pop. Music is a carrier for Gaga's feelings, and she does not feel like Pop, so everybody should respect that, but almost nobody does it.

[KURUSHITOVSKA 20,440]

I hope not, I'd feel so betrayed

[fashion monster 397]

Not this again...

[Bebe 16,693]

I don't really care about any cosmetic work she has done, permanent or not. I don't stan cause she is pretty. She has justified it by saying it isn't permanent (in the same way that bleaching or dying your hair changes your looks but isn't permanent). You could look at it as another way Gaga is able to transform, but frankly it just doesn't bother me.

I disagree that Gaga just 'used' the gay community for Born This Way. This woman cried over the Orlando shootings, I mean she has been an advocate for so long and I think you are judging her at an unreasonable standard.

I disagree that 'anything she does nowadays is catered mostly for the GP'. I think what you really mean by that is that what she has been doing hasn't been catered to you. Surely her pop career appeals to the GP? You included in part of that GP? Her Jazz outing with Tony Bennett exposed her to a new audience and maybe alienated some of her previous audience but if she cared about the money and wanted to cater to the GP then surely another pop album is what she would have come out with.

As for the Youtube money thing, it seems obvious to me that from her perspective she is fighting to put the power back in the hands of artists, which is something she has advocated for since the beginning... I don't agree with her decision, I think it's ill informed, but it's the reason 95%+ of the artists on that list signed the public petition to be real. It wasn't because they thought everyone would rally behind giving them more money.

Her "her merchandise with Elton John for their respective foundations" is money grabbing? You just said it's for their respective foundations, both of which are actually VERY LGBT friendly charity organisations too FYI.

The "Is Gaga a Character?" thing is bizarre. She hasn't been contradictory in what she has said on the topic... It makes me wonder if people here actually listen to what she is saying or just want an excuse to jump up and down frustrated because of the lack of LG5.

I also don't think she is acting any more like a celebrity then she used to tbh.

[Reality 70,493]

I  actually think that the Gaga we knew through The Fame and maybe even The Fame Monster era wasn't necessarily "Gaga". Remember, she essentially became an overnight sensation, it's not like her fame was gradual and stead, it exploded. 

Personally, I think in the very beginning, while she still was very much true to her character, I don't think that she necessarily was who she really was. I mean, remember, her roots go back more into jazz and rock more than they do pop music. I think in the beginning of her career, she did things and maybe even said things she didn't necessarily believe in because she was such a global superstar so early and came about so quickly. 

Overall, I think the Gaga we are seeing now is not only much more genuine, but much more honest. She's grown and matured, you can't blame her or expect the "Old Gaga" when she's not only experienced more, but when she's also learned a lot more too. If she wanted to, she could stop but she isn't, she's taking up side projects and acting and singing other genres because that's what she wants to do. She is now able to fulfill things in her life she couldn't do earlier in her career because she doesn't have to worry about the fame or the money or getting her name out there because she's Lady Gaga. 

[Swan Heart 7,382]

14 minutes ago, Bebe said:

As for the Youtube money thing, it seems obvious to me that from her perspective she is fighting to put the power back in the hands of artists, which is something she has advocated for since the beginning... I don't agree with her decision, I think it's ill informed, but it's the reason 95%+ of the artists on that list signed the public petition to be real. It wasn't because they thought everyone would rally behind giving them more money.

That's actually quite a logical view on the issue, thank you. I think we jumbed the gun too quickly.

Plus, many of these artists don't strike me as the greedy type.

[xeynuraf 191]

when someone is really eccentric, they remain that way forever. for example bjork, grace jones...there are tons of examples. i dont get that argument that she is now just hollywood stefani because she grew out of being gaga. only time will tell if it was just an record label gimmick.

[giskardsb 12,565]

Of all the ridiculous things that keep getting repeated lately, the concept that Gaga was never really for the LGBT and used them only for her own purposes has to be the most ludicrous.  People are discounting her entire history of LGBT support because they don't like other things she is doing or simply because she doesn't mention the gay community on a weekly basis.   It's insane is what that is.

I get that some of you feel "betrayed" because for some reason you never saw how Gaga used performance art as part of her public persona, and you are annoyed that she has dialed that back.  I get that some of you are annoyed that she isn't all the bitchy "strong" NY woman you want her to be 24/7 anymore.  I get that some of you prefer that she hides her vunerabilities rather than showing them, again to maintain a "strong" persona that you prefer.

The Youtube thing is being blown out of proportion though and people are using it as just another reason to drag her.  There are bigger issues here than how many pennies YouTube pays to artists when their work gets used on the site.   It's a matter of control of your own work as a creative person.   But given that most of this fanbase is under 18 and believes that music and creative work should all be free for the taking, I'm not surprised by the attitude.

But Gaga's humanitarian record stands for itself.  Quit trying to make up fake issues about her LGBT support because you don't feel like she is coddling the community 24/7.  It's a bad look for the gay community.

 

[Kulture Kiari 3,433]

31 minutes ago, Swan Heart said:

See, that's something I miss.

Aww

27 minutes ago, MaryJaneHolland said:

she complicated the gaga/stefani thing so much lately, i'm over it 

i'm gaga

i'm stefani

gaga is a character

i'm gaga and stefani

I guess she will always be both. 

17 minutes ago, KURUSHITOVSKA said:

I hope not, I'd feel so betrayed

Im just jumping the gun. Sorry.

15 minutes ago, Bebe said:

 It makes me wonder if people here actually listen to what she is saying or just want an excuse to jump up and down frustrated because of the lack of LG5.

I believe this is my case, sadly.

14 minutes ago, Phoenix said:

a fraud and a fad

She is not a fad tho. 

[QueenGaga 3,447]

People change over the time and I must admit a huge part of me misses the old Gaga. But we can't oversee how she changed our lives through music and helped the LGBQT community. Gaga herself is confused about the Stefani/Gaga thing and I'm sure with this upcoming era she'll clearly express who she is right now.