Is Lady Gaga a character?

[sipthistea 21,099]

I know this has been discussed before, and even Gaga has addressed this question by explaining she herself became what her audience thought that Lady Gaga was. 

But, in addition to that, I want to know your thoughts on this. From your own perspective (as a fan or as a witness.mp3) Do you think "Lady Gaga" is just an invention? Is her character pure fiction? Or is Lady Gaga truly part of Stefani Germanotta? 

[ryanripley 86,575]

i think each era is a different persona that matches the album's concepts and aesthetics

like for The Fame: she was all glamour, money, fame, fame, fame, champagne and sex!

for TFM: she was all "I HATE MONEY", dark fashion, dark visuals, i forgot the name of the persona

etc etc

[Jolt 1,596]

[KyliesChild 16,907]

i think lady gaga was initially just an exaggerated version of stefani but it became more than that as time progressed. however, she has changed herself a lot throughout her career and always contradicts herself constantly so it is sometimes difficult to know if she's being genuine or not 

[dit 45,359]

I feel like it is both a character and truly a part of her as well.

Though she may not sound as convicted to Lady Gaga as she once was with the whole "call me Joanne" and even calling "Lady Gaga" a "persona" I  still think that she is still at the core Lady Gaga as well. I just think that she came to the realization that she no longer needs to shun "Stefanie" in order to be Lady Gaga anymore. She sort of has found a way to embrace Stefani and Gaga at the same time and has come to the conclusion that Lady Gaga is in fact a part of her but is not ALL of her and that she is deep inside Stefani as well.

[rumours 45,521]

Why yes. Gaga is a Warholian character

[Monster7 5,628]

It was a character at the beginning. Then, her personality turned into that character's somehow, around 2009. It wasn't until 2014 that she started again to be more Stefani. But I think she's still Lady Gaga, it's just that she's not so.. "dark" as before

[DeleteMyAccount 11,881]

Depends on how you look at it. One way may make it seem like her whole career is a lie and completely constructed.

However, like in FF2, Gaga states that she puts wild spins in her work to maintain some level of control. It's not like Gaga was Gaga in 2006. But we know that she always had a form of the Gaga spirit even as a kid. Many artists put on a role or a persona when it comes to executing their work. And that's ok. 

[Reality 71,289]

I think that to a certain extent it is a character. Obviously, the entirety of "Lady Gaga" cannot be a character. There have to be some elements that are true to who she is. Stefani loves art and music and is inspired by people like Bowie (who has clearly had huge influences on Gaga, as a persona in the music industry). That being said, while it's not entirely a character, it's not entirely true to who she is as well.

Gaga says in Five Foot Two that, in a way, she made up Gaga in order to get people (especially manipulative men in the music business) off of her. She thought that if she was shocking enough or portrayed herself a certain way, that she'd be able to relieve herself off of some people who took advantage of her (and other women around her). She also says in the documentary that she realizes that she can send a powerful and inspiring message without having to put on "all the wigs and makeup."

[Contrapoints 6,146]

At the begging definitely, but around the time of the BTW era it became less and less of a performance and more 'Stefani'. Now with Joanne, Gaga is more or less just Stefani tbh.

[Monster7 5,628]

I mean, it's a part of herself, but she adjusts it to each era, and she eventually got a bit tired of it for Joanne. Her problems with her hip and her team during ARTPOP era must have influenced. But it's still there, and she likes that part of herself, there you have the superbowl

[QueenGa 682]

 

In one of her interviews, she says she's "entirely Stefani and entirely Gaga". I feel like earlier in her career, Gaga was definitely a part of Stefani, but now she says that "Gaga" is what other people have created through what she's produced and made, so people's opinions change all the time. I feel now she's definitely more Stefani with the whole Joanne thing and almost tries to push the "Gaga" to the side...

[sipthistea 21,099]

5 minutes ago, Haiii said:

At the begging definitely, but around the time of the BTW era it became less and less of a performance and more 'Stefani'. Now with Joanne, Gaga is more or less just Stefani tbh.

So you think Lady Gaga, as a character, died in the moment she released Joanne? 

[hoeslay 4,113]

Yes and no. Lady Gaga is 100% Stefani. Stefani is NOT 100% Lady Gaga. I'd say Gaga is sort of like a mask but a transparent one like the clear ones you see that have faces painted onto them. True theatre is never a lie but rather a reality under imaginary circumstances and with pop performance art, you're making a theatre that is not traditional. You're no longer truthfully telling someone else's story but rather telling your own story with a few added details and some glitter and embroidery. It's real, it's just fantasy as well. She's talked about that before. The only time it's become an issue is when that side of you (not as a separate entity but as a facet of your personality) starts to take in all the stress and is used as a defense mechanism. Gaga has talked about herself using "Lady Gaga" as a tool for self empowerment that in moments became untrue or braver than she actually was or needed to be, and Katy even publicly shared a therapy session on this. So Gaga's not a character to me, at least - but simply a heightened expression of Stefani. Both coexist and as an artist it's simply just a process to make sure they can comfortably coexist. 

[Contrapoints 6,146]

10 minutes ago, sipthistea said:

So you think Lady Gaga, as a character, died in the moment she released Joanne? 

Thats actually a pretty poetic way of putting it, but yeah kind of 🤔

You can't deny that with Joanne, Gaga just needed to be less 'Gaga' and more about herself in a personal sense. I think the whole crux of needing to be 'Lady Gaga', a superstar pop sensation, was just wearing her down and she kind of got sick of it tbh. 

She needed to rediscover her roots again with Joanne. Why else an album in namesake of her late aunt? Because she wanted to experience Stefani for a while.