Why did Lady Gaga call her song "John Wayne" when he was racist?

[Stan Is My Name 453]

*cough cough* some delulu MJ fans aside, I don't think Gaga made John Wayne to be offensive. The song makes no reference to white supremacy, it only adds to the cowboy-esque feel of the album. I think unless you're reaching the song is completely harmless imo.

[onion boy 264]

DWUW ft. * **** teas 

[Ashley 9,394]

14 minutes ago, moonsago said:

I didn’t even know this but I guess it’s just another thing to add to Gaga’s messy record of not being informed enough before doing something. Same with DWUW and R. kelly, same with that stupid photo of her posing with fans in black face, same with SiRE and MJ. This is what annoys me the most about her, I know she doesn’t stand for these things and if she knew she wouldn’t have done them but I just wish she would educate herself before doing something that has relation with other people. She’s pretty ignorant for an opened minded person and ya’ll can’t come for me cause you know it’s true. 

She most definitely knows what blackface is, lol. Pretty much everyone in America knows what it is. She clearly looked uncomfortable in those photos so she should have refused to take them, but maybe they ambushed her, who knows.

A lot of people don’t believe MJ was guilty, either. It’s around 50/50 for most people I’ve met.

And this is the first I’m hearing about John Wayne being racist so it’s possible it’s not common knowledge, and she may simply have never heard of it.

So I wouldn’t call any of this proof of ignorance. It’s more likely that she’s a little too trusting (R. Kelly, Terry).

[Kimblue 7,334]

A reach

[KingRedd 3,139]

This went from John Wayne is/isn’t racist, to MJ is/isn’t a pedophile... I’m here for it 

[Runway 27,876]

A white middle aged man making racist remarks in 1971. Im so shocked  

[Runway 27,876]

42 minutes ago, moonsago said:

I didn’t even know this but I guess it’s just another thing to add to Gaga’s messy record of not being informed enough before doing something. Same with DWUW and R. kelly, same with that stupid photo of her posing with fans in black face, same with SiRE and MJ. This is what annoys me the most about her, I know she doesn’t stand for these things and if she knew she wouldn’t have done them but I just wish she would educate herself before doing something that has relation with other people. She’s pretty ignorant for an opened minded person and ya’ll can’t come for me cause you know it’s true. 

Good luck trying to work with someone with a clean record in Hollywood. Lmao

[Bebe 17,093]

The songs isn't about how she wants John Wayne himself, she wants a caricature of what he represents, he was this icon of masculinity and the Western cowboy hero. People hear the name 'John Wayne' and think about this wild, tough, masculine cowboy type and his action persona.

I don't really think it's meant as a reference at all to his off-screen self. This is about the action hero, this is about his onscreen characterisation, this is about what he represents as an icon. To suddenly pick apart the man's flaws and what he was like on a personal level I think is a little unfair, it's clearly not what she is referring to when she used his name as a metaphor. People are complex and multifaceted, Gaga isn't really invoking John Wayne and all his intricacies when she used his name - she was invoking his on screen persona, the iconography of John Wayne and that performance of masculinity.

It would be like if someone said "Wow, ____ is as brave as a lion!" and some zoologist came along like "Well, why would you say that? Lions are actually very cowardly... In fact if you observe them during this period, you could see it yourself! " Whether that's true or not isn't really the point, the point is that it communicates an idea and a feeling. Lions are strong, they hunt large and dangerous prey. Lions are also consistently characterised as brave in fictional fairy tales, myths and other stories. Whether or not lions are actually brave in real life is irrelevant, they invoke an idea about what courage is. Male lions also tend to eat their cubs in order to prevent them from growing up and being competition, that's not what the person was hinting at when they used that metaphor though. Metaphors are supposed to communicate a particular idea or feeling, they don't need to be a perfect match when you break down every single component. 
 

[Robinladen 1,527]

2 hours ago, DiamondAngel said:

At this point he's more of a name than a person. 

She also wrote Sire for MJ when he almost definitely was a pedophile. 

John Wayne is an idea, not a man. He's a stereotype. 

"Almost definitely" is a complete reach, it could very well be that they were just out for money. 

[Decodekid 28,233]

next up on GDD:

Why did Gaga make Applause? it's cruel ! living cells on your palms are dying because of people clapping

[Bio 23,538]

It’s the worst song on Joanne

[PerfectIllusion 6,616]

2 hours ago, DiamondAngel said:

She also wrote Sire for MJ when he almost definitely was a pedophile

You are almost definitely wrong

[Miel 15,009]

She probably didn't know.

And if she did, it's not like her idea of a "John Wayne" is exactly positive. Hell, the whole video gave yeehaw piece of sh*t Confederate flag f*cking teas.

[DiscoStyx 3,355]

thank you for bringing this up, I had no idea

[Be Free 434]

45 minutes ago, Bio said:

It’s the worst song on Joanne

EXCUSE ME, NO