Lady Gaga reflects on ‘distorted’ side-effects of fame

Lady Gaga talks about the ‘horrors’ and cons of fame during ‘The Howard Stern Show’

Lady Gaga is no stranger to the highs and lows of fame, but according to her, the biggest “horror” of being a global superstar is losing her own sense of self.

During a candid conversation on The Howard Stern Show this Tuesday, the 38-year-old singer got real about the meaning behind her new song Perfect Celebrity—a track that dives into her complex relationship with fame.

“I think in a way, when I was writing, I was feeling like there was the real me and there was the clone me,” Gaga explained. “It’s kind of one of the more angry songs I’ve ever written.”

The Poker Face hitmaker admitted that she was “mad at [herself]” for willingly stepping into an industry that often strips artists of their personal identity.

“The song is a little bit of a retaliation against myself, and I’m just sort of trying to figure out as I go through it, how I feel about it all, and it’s kind of a reckless tune, I think, in a way.”

When Stern asked about the “horror” of fame, Gaga didn’t hold back.

“There’s a high I used to get from being in the public eye all the time, and it kind of, like, burnt me out and made me value what people thought of me over who I was in my everyday life,” she shared.

“Ultimately it was my responsibility to start to value myself differently.”

As someone who spent years in the spotlight, Gaga—whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta—said the pressure led to a “distorted way of thinking” about herself.

“It actually feels really nice to have things not be about me all the time,” she reflected.

“I enjoy being there for the people I love, supporting other people. I guess what I’m trying to say is everything orbiting me for a really long time, it was just, it created a distorted sense of self.”

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In Perfect Celebrity, Gaga channels those emotions into powerful lyrics, describing herself as a “human doll” molded to please others.

“I’m made of plastic like a human doll / You push and pull me, I don’t hurt at all / I talk in circles, ‘cause my brain, it aches / You say, ‘I love you,’ I disintegrate.”

Another line takes the theme further, “I’ve become a notorious being / Find my clone, she’s asleep on the ceiling.”

Speaking to InStyle, the Grammy winner previously explained that the lyrics reflect “the idea that we all, in a way, have our real selves and then our clone version that we project to the world.”

For Gaga, stepping back from that “clone” and rediscovering her true self seems to be the most rewarding encore yet.