In 2019, Lady Gaga is considered one of the most talented, accomplished artists working in music. And her recent foray into film, after which she was nominated for Best Actress for A Star Is Born, has only solidified that she’s a force to be reckoned with. But just as with many adolescents and young adults — particularly those who grow up to be LGBTQ-identifying — she was also a victim of bullying, rejection and generally despicable behavior. Check out the below story of Lady Gaga bullying that we recently uncovered.
Sure, today she’s broken records. (She’s actually the only woman in history to have won a BAFTA, Golden Globe, Grammy and Oscar in the same year.) But back when she was a student at NYU in New York City, some of her fellow students took time to create a particularly nasty Facebook group.
Titled “Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous,” the group was created as a forum to trash-talk the still-up-and-coming performer.
And despite it’s low membership — only 12 members at the time the above screenshot was taken — it’s all the proof one needs to know that there will always be haters and people who tell you that you’re untalented or otherwise unable to accomplish your dreams. But with talent and dedication, nearly anything is possible.
Check out this Facebook post about a Lady Gaga bullying Facebook page from years back:
When I was a freshman at NYU and Facebook was only a year old and people created/joined groups like “I have dimples, f*** me” and “Fake ID, please!,” I remember coming across a Facebook group that broke my heart. It’s name: “Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous.”
The page housed pictures of a pretty Norah Jones-esque young 18-year-old NYU student who sang and played piano at local bars. The group was peppered with comments, sharp as porcupine needles, vilifying the aspiring musician for being an “attention-whore.” Scores asked: “Who does she think she is?” I also remember one dude posting a flyer for one of her upcoming gigs at a local village bar. He had clearly stomped on the flyer, an outline of his muddy sole [soul] struggling to eclipse her name.
I couldn’t shake the raw feeling of filth while scrolling down that Facebook page, but I pretty much — and quickly — forgot about that group and that girl with the intense raven eyes.
Until about five years later. I was on an Amtrak train from NYC to Philly, reading a Vanessa Grigoriadis New York Magazine profile on Lady Gaga. I floated somewhat mindlessly through the piece until I got to the first sentence of the second graf:
“Before the meeting, I assumed that someone with a stage name like “Lady” (her given name is Stefani Joanne Germanotta) was going to be a bit standoffish…”
HOLY SHIT, I screamed to an empty car (Those who hang with me will know that I actually shrieked). LADY GAGA IS STEFANI GERMANOTTA? STEFANI IS LADY GAGA?
I was overcome with a dizzying emotional cocktail of stage-mom-at-a-beauty-pageant and nerd-revenge triumph. But also shame. Shame that I never wrote on that group, shame that I never defended the girl with the intense raven eyes — the girl whose brave flyers were stomped on, probably somewhere near my dorm.
But again, I soon forgot about that revelation and that feeling. Feelings. They’re so fleeting. Even more so, revelations. We need to constantly re-discover them every damn day.
Like last week, when I woke up to this meme.
I saw the muddy sole eclipsing her name. The eye-rolls. The cowardly virtual-giggles. The “Who does she think she is?”
I’ve got a lot of feelings, but the easiest one to articulate: gratitude.
Stefani, thank you. Thank you for always thinking you’re a superstar, for using your cracks to let the light come out more brightly. Humans, let’s follow suit. #LadyGaga #ThatsWho
A moment in my life I will never forget. My whole artistic journey flashed before my eyes. Thank you to the Academy and to the gentlemen who wrote and performed this song with me. 📸 Mark Seliger, @VanityFair pic.twitter.com/isLoIjLUGC
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) February 26, 2019
