Lady Gaga opens up about navigating lies and rumours in her career

Lady Gaga addressed rumors from early in her career claiming she was a man during an appearance on Netflix's What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates."

The singer-actress recalled, "When I was in my early 20s, there was a rumor that I was a man... I went all over the world. I traveled for tours and for promoting my records, and almost every interview I sat in — there was this imagery on the internet that had been doctored — they were like, 'There's rumours that you're a man. What do you have to say about that?'"

In a 2011 CNN interview, Lady Gaga famously shut down the question.

"Why the hell am I going to waste my time and give a press release about whether or not I have a penis? My fans don't care and neither do I."

Years later, she explained her silence by noting, "I didn't feel like a victim with that lie, and I thought: What about a kid who is being accused of that who would think that a public figure like me would feel shame?"

The Bloody Marry singer continued, "I've been in situations where fixing a rumor was not in the best interest of the well-being of other people. 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."

She reflected on her experience with misinformation, "I've been used to lies being printed about me since I was 20 years old. I'm a performer. I think it's kind of funny."