Why Lady Gaga Chose to Ignore Rumors That She Was a Man

"I didn’t feel like a victim."

Lady Gaga is no stranger to show biz, and all the things that come along with it—like unsubstantiated rumors and tabloid headlines. There was one particular from earlier in her career that she has not addressed—until now.

During an appearance on Netflix's What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates, which premiered yesterday, the star addressed the former conspiracy theory that she was a man.

“I’ve been used to lies being printed about me since I was 20 years old,” she said. “I’m a performer. I think it’s kind of funny. When I was in my early 20s, there was a rumor that I was a man.”

She went on to say that the made-up gossip, which started after a doctored photo was posted online, followed her “all over the world” and was brought up in every interview she took while promoting her work. “They said, 'There’s this rumor that you’re a man. What do you have to say about that?’”

At the time, the singer made it a point to ignore the question instead of shutting down the rumors, and now she's explaining why—and it had nothing to do with herself.

“The reason why I didn’t answer the question is because I didn’t feel like a victim with that lie,” she said. “But I thought, ‘What about a kid that’s being accused of that, who would think a public figure like me would feel shame?’”

“I’ve been in situations where fixing a rumor was not in the well being of other people," she added. "So, in that case, I tried to be thought-provoking and disruptive in another way. I tried to use the misinformation to create another disruptive point."

Recently, however, Gaga chose to nip false information in the bud when it came to her relationship with Michael Polansky. After rumors started circulating earlier this year that she was pregnant, the star was quick to debunk the speculation with a TikTok captioned, "Not pregnant—just down bad crying at the gym."

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