Furgate - Gaga's response to fur allegations

[easyride 1]

I guess she forgot what she told Ellen, "I will never wear fur".

[Chuckles 2,549]

Yes, she answered like the queen she is. . . but I dont get the Kim Kardashian part. . .

The Kim Kardashian part is because PETA is also up her ass because she wears furs

[Cherry 17]

If you don't like fur then don't wear it. Simple. It's not your business what Gaga, or anyone else, wears.

[beaster 0]

hmm, did i ever say that

No, you didn't say that. That was me posing a question...

[StrawberryBlond 14,828]

I just wish she would come out and say that both coats are fake (which research shows they are). She had her fun playing with the media but people honestly do think they're real and saying nasty things about her. I despair of people who don't do their own research but this is the public for you.

[Mystique105 0]

If you don't like fur then don't wear it. Simple. It's not your business what Gaga, or anyone else, wears.

Then why is it Gaga's business to try and pass laws for gay marriage when she's in a straight relationship, and so many people are against it? I'll tell you why. She saw a wrong and wanted to right it, and that's what PETA and all animal activists do, although I don't always agree with their methods. There was a time - not so long ago - when Gaga went on the Ellen show and spoke out against fur. There was a reason for that. She understood the cruelty and suffering that went into fur products. So what changed her mind? Why did she sell out everything we thought she stood for, for a slaughtered, tortured piece of Hermes "art"? And make no mistake, these animals suffered horribly. Maybe you can stand by and let the slaughter continue, but I cannot. I have supported animal rights causes (not PETA) for over 30 years, and it's sad to see we seem to be moving backward. A pop icon who seemed to be enlightening people and moving them towards the light has taken a giant step backward.

I don't know about the rest of you, but when I read the Vogue piece, I was disturbed to see someone close to her quoted as saying they were afraid Gaga was losing touch with reality. I see her un-smiling face, signing photos looking like she's totally out of it. The spark and spontaneity are gone. It's like she's being eaten alive by the Fame Monster. Then I hear she's throwing up backstage, and I wonder why? Is she sick? There are other, more sinister reasons people throw up that have nothing to do with eating disorders. It brings back very unpleasant memories for me.

In the interest of equal time and fair play, here is what Gaga and Tara are trying to spin into a supposed PETA attack:

Will 'Turncoat' Gaga Be PETA's Next Target?

Written by Jeff Mackey

08-13-2012

Lady Gaga has plenty of fansâ€â€especially in the gay community, which she has embraced so fervently. Gay Gaga fans at PETA loved her all the more when she came out against fur, telling Ellen DeGeneres, "I hate fur and I don't wear fur." But recent furry Gaga photos show that the Lady may be a turncoat. So PETA VP Dan Mathews has written to Gaga to find out if she's become a "Judas" to animals:

Dear Gaga,

Many of your gay fans, I among them, have long admired what you told Ellen: "I hate fur and I don't wear fur." I included a link because these recent photos of you in fox and rabbit and with a wolf carcassmake it appear that you have amnesia. I'm also including this brief video hosted by Tim Gunn showing the violent cruelty that you promote when you wear fur. What happened? Are your stylists telling you that it's fake, or are you a turncoat? Many gays are animal advocates because we recognize that the same arrogance and indifference that some have toward animal suffering has at times been directed toward us personally because of our orientation. PETA has long participated in Pride events around the country, and just last week, we helped lead protests against Chick-fil-A. But by wearing those dumb furs in a heat wave, you're making yourself a target just like the mindless Kim Kardashian. As we plan our fall campaigns, please tell us whether what you gracefully told Ellen was heartfelt or just a pose.

We await your reply.

Sincerely,

Dan Mathews

Senior Vice President

PETA

[NathanC 938]

Dan Matthews is a moron... being gay and being a fur activist has no correlations... nor should it...

If you're so appalled, do everyone a favor and stan for Pink... she works well with PETA... Gaga already has 2 causes, gay rights and bullying... If you dont endorse fur, don't wear it... I don't wear it because i cant afford it, even if I can afford it I wouldnt wear fur unless I'm living in Alaska... just like... if you don't endorse eating meat, then dont eat it... don't shove your opinions about meat OR fur down people's throats... 11 pages of self righteous stans enforcing their opinions on others... sounds familiar in 44 states without gay marriage? :nails:

[Iconoclast 2]

I think Gaga has ****ed herself a bit here. She understands her motives but I don't think most of the general population do. At a time when the general public was already sick of her, she seems to have really done herself some PR damage.

[Mystique105 0]

I just wish she would come out and say that both coats are fake (which research shows they are). She had her fun playing with the media but people honestly do think they're real and saying nasty things about her. I despair of people who don't do their own research but this is the public for you.

It doesn't even matter at this point. The fact that she would wear something that looks like real fur, and won't confirm or deny it only makes it worse. The odd thing is, she has a lot of Tea Party/ gun nut support - the very people who oppose gay marriage and usually hate her. I'm expecting Sarah Palin to jump on her bandwagon at any moment.

Not all publicity is good publicity. Maybe she's doing the (late-RIP) Christopher Hitchens thing of trying to see how far she can go. He admitted he was courting controversy with his book dissing Mother Theresa, "The Missionary Position". Well Hitch could dish it out and he could take it. Don't know if she can.

[SEANGT 5,279]

How is it not a compassionate issue? It's people being compassionate about the suffering of animals. Fine, you have a right to your opinion, but I just can't understand how someone wouldn't care about another creature suffering so horribly. Animals have feelings, emotions, I just think of them being skinned for their beautiful fur, and it's like, this is what their life amounted to? Nobody cared enough to consider its pain?

I don't understand why I *should* care. It doesn't matter at all to anyone if an animal suffers.

[Jake 0]

You sound like a dear sweet person, and I feel for you very much. I am older than most here, but even at my age, Gaga taught me things about how to accept and love myself, and for that I thank her. I was her biggest defender when it came to her wearing what she wants and doing what she wants, as long as she wasn't hurting anyone.

The issue here isn't about Gaga vs. PETA. PETA are one of the most visible and confrontational animal rights groups, and I don't always approve of their tactics. But in this case, they are a group that only sent her a respectful letter asking her to reconsider her behavior.

When we get diverted into the Gaga vs PETA argument, the larger issue of animal cruelty and wearing fur gets lost. And that's exactly why Tara is on Twitter dissing PETA - it's a diversionary tactic that thinking people aren't going to get side-tracked by.

I have for many years supported animal rights groups (International Fund for Animal Welfare) and others that are not as confrontational as PETA. I donate to the North Shore Animal League, and Angell Memorial in Boston - to help pay for sick and/ or wounded animals who's owners could not otherwise afford medical care for their pets. I am leaving the bulk of my estate to the cause of animal rights in my will, and I was going to make a contribution to the BTW Foundation out of respect for Gaga, but not anymore.

This has been like a body blow for me. Not only the wearing of the fur, but the first snotty answer about it being 'Hermes, thank you'. She's toned it down since then because the blow back has been huge. Go check out the UK newspapers like the Daily Mail as an exmple.

She and Tara are not going to divert this disaster by trying to turn LM's disappointment in her into poor little Gaga vs big mean PETA. Again, PETA has done nothing to Gaga except write her a letter - because she is a role model. In a way she's lucky PETA got involved because she's trying to take the heat off herself and put it on them. It isn't going to work.

P.S. Hermes is the designer and they don't do fake. If I tear an animal to bits, stick it on a canvas, and call it art, is it art?? Or is it my illusion?

I understand that this has personally affected you, but not donating to the Born This Way foundation because of it seems a little far to me. Its goal is to help people and spread equality. It's not like it is going to buy fur coats for everyone. Not donating to a foundation committed to helping people because of something she wore that has nothing to do with the BTWF is silly to me.

I can't stress enough that I think people deserve to have their own opinions, but helping people should ALWAYS take previlence over helping animals. Sure, you can say animals have feelings, and for all I know, they do, but we KNOW that people have feelings, we know they can reason and feel emotion. As long as there are underprivileged people in the world, I feel that they should be given top priority. We're animals too and we should protect and help our own species.

That being said, I love animals and think they should always be treated in a loving way. As long as there are meat eaters in the world though, I don't see wearing fur as any different than killing animals for food. People don't have to eat meat, they choose to, just like fur. As long as the animal was killed in a humane way, I don't think we should judge Gaga and certainly dont think we should stop supporting other aspects of her because of this. Humans are on the top of the food chain and like any animal, we can extort that right. I personally wouldn't wear fur and hardly eat any meat but this is certainly her choice.

It does upset me a touch that she contradicted herself over this issue. She seems to be doing a lot of that lately. I truly am sorry about how strongly this has resonated with you though and I hope that you find closure with it in some way. I do hope you'll still consider donating to the foundation though. That's more than just Gaga. It's here to help people.

[HausOfNicole 177]

The bottom line of this situation is wearing fur is no more illegal or wrong than eating the products of a tortured farm animal. Everyone has their own views and should stand my them, but stop trying to push these views on others, especially since in reality this isn't one of those right or wrong issues.

What really kills me is that people get all self righteous over fur, yet very few people will even mention the fact that a lot of our everyday clothes are made by suffering childern and grossly underpaid adults. I find that I identify with a suffering human more than a suffering animal, because I am a human, so once again before you go pointing fingers at her, take a look in your own closet and think about the literal blood, sweat, and tears that was put into making all your self righteous non-fur clothing. I'm not saying people can't feel that wearing fur is wrong, but you can't judge someone for wearing it when in reality the very clothes your wearing (and sometimes the device your using to b---h about it) was made by a tortured human. My point is come off of all this self righteous ****, because it doesn't make you smart and it doesn't make you a better person, however it does make you come off asshole, which isn't necessary and at times downgrades your cause.

P.S. Gaga isn't on the up and up about this either, because her statement, while well done, only adds fuel to this whole situation. She could've easily cleared this up with a simple statement, or better yet just said nothing and let this whole thing blow over.

[Mystique105 0]

Dan Matthews is a moron... being gay and being a fur activist has no correlations... nor should it...

If you're so appalled, do everyone a favor and stan for Pink... she works well with PETA... Gaga already has 2 causes, gay rights and bullying... If you dont endorse fur, don't wear it... I don't wear it because i cant afford it, even if I can afford it I wouldnt wear fur unless I'm living in Alaska... just like... if you don't endorse eating meat, then dont eat it... don't shove your opinions about meat OR fur down people's throats... 11 pages of self righteous stans enforcing their opinions on others... sounds familiar in 44 states without gay marriage?

Uhhhh.... did free speech just die? Actually, I thought Dan Matthews made an excellent connection between being gay and animal rights. Two oppressed groups.

You also miss the point about fur. It's not an 'opinion', it's about suffering and cruelty. Do you turn your back on that and walk away? Yes, I guess you do. And don't tell anyone who to be a fan of. I can be disappointed with Gaga if I want to, and still not care for Pink's music. If I want to turn to a musician and designer who support PETA, I'll take Sir Paul and Stella McCartney.

[KillerCupcake 3]

I can't stress enough that I think people deserve to have their own opinions, but helping people should ALWAYS take previlence over helping animals.

I will never understand people that say that. Why should helping humans be more important? Just because they are humans? Well animals have feelings too. For example my pets are more important to me than any other human in the world and if I had to choose between saving my pets from a burning building or a bunch of humans I WOULD CHOOSE MY PETS! I wouldn't choose the humans just because they are humans. I'm sick of people treating animals like ****. And using innocent animals for testing. That's not right when we have prisons full of murderers, rapists, and pedos.

[Mystique105 0]

I don't want to

I understand that this has personally affected you, but not donating to the Born This Way foundation because of it seems a little far to me. Its goal is to help people and spread equality. It's not like it is going to buy fur coats for everyone. Not donating to a foundation committed to helping people because of something she wore that has nothing to do with the BTWF is silly to me.

I can't stress enough that I think people deserve to have their own opinions, but helping people should ALWAYS take previlence over helping animals. Sure, you can say animals have feelings, and for all I know, they do, but we KNOW that people have feelings, we know they can reason and feel emotion. As long as there are underprivileged people in the world, I feel that they should be given top priority. We're animals too and we should protect and help our own species.

That being said, I love animals and think they should always be treated in a loving way. As long as there are meat eaters in the world though, I don't see wearing fur as any different than killing animals for food. People don't have to eat meat, they choose to, just like fur. As long as the animal was killed in a humane way, I don't think we should judge Gaga and certainly dont think we should stop supporting other aspects of her because of this. Humans are on the top of the food chain and like any animal, we can extort that right. I personally wouldn't wear fur and hardly eat any meat but this is certainly her choice.

It does upset me a touch that she contradicted herself over this issue. She seems to be doing a lot of that lately. I truly am sorry about how strongly this has resonated with you though and I hope that you find closure with it in some way. I do hope you'll still consider donating to the foundation though. That's more than just Gaga. It's here to help people.

I appreciate your courteous tone, which is more than I can say for some people here, tossing around the word "asshole". There is much and more I could say to such people, but why waste my time?

There are so many people helping people - like Bill & Melinda Gates and their billion $$$ foundation, so I to donate to animal charities as I always have. I was only going to donate to BTW because I admired Gaga, but even before this fur controversy, I held back. It's been getting harder and harder to defend her as she gets weirder and weirder, and not in a good way. Everything is so dark...even the new perfume ad.

I do mentor in my community and try to counsel kids in crisis, so I give my time to people. I feel a one on one approach is more worth while. I taught someone in junior high how to read last summer, and that was very gratifying.