Despite her success, Lady Gaga’s life has been marked by tragedy, something she discussed in and Oprah Winfrey’s Apple TV+ documentary, The Me You Can’t See. The 2021 series also saw Harry and Oprah hear stories from the likes of Glenn Close and basketball player DeMar DeRozan.
The Shallow singer opened up about a harrowing experience she had at the age of 19, when a producer raped and impregnated her. She said: “I was 19 years old, and I was working in the business, and a producer said to me, ‘take your clothes off’. And I said ‘no’.”
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Prince Harry and Lady Gaga collaborated in 2021. (Image: Getty)
The A Star is Born actress then revealed that after refusing, she was threatened with the destruction of her music.
In tears, Lady Gaga said: “And they didn’t stop. They didn’t stop asking me, and I just froze and I… I don’t even remember.”
The Oscar-winning singer went on to describe the long-lasting psychological effects of the incident, which manifested as chronic pain.
She shared: “I was sick for weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks after, and I realised that it was the same pain that I felt when the person who raped me dropped me off pregnant on a corner at my parents’ house because I was vomiting and sick.
“Because I’d been being abused. I was locked away in a studio for months.”
Lady Gaga said the horrifying ordeal has had a life-long impact. (Image: Getty)
Lady Gaga continued: “I’ve had so many MRIs and scans they don’t find [anything] but your body remembers.”
She described the feeling of dissociation, saying: “It’s like your brain goes offline. You don’t know why no one else is panicking, but you are in an ultra-state of paranoia.”
Now 38, Lady Gaga said that the sexual assault still affects her today. She admitted: “It’s a really, very real thing to feel that there’s a black cloud that is following you wherever you go, telling you that you’re worthless and should die.
“I used to scream and throw myself against a wall.”
In the documentary, Lady Gaga emphasised that discussing her experiences was beneficial.
The singer, a long-time mental health advocate, has also collaborated with on his Heads Together campaign and former President on campaigns to eradicate sexual assaults on college campuses.