The star claimed that she wasn't a stranger to rumours being made up about her
Lady Gaga recently opened up about why she never addressed the rumors that questioned her gender.
In the second episode of the Netflix series What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates, Gaga sat down with Bill Gates and talked openly about some of the strange rumors that followed her early in her career.
One, in particular, seemed to dominate the headlines.
Back in those days, many questioned whether Gaga was actually a man, with headlines constantly speculating about her gender.
In 2011, she famously told CNN: "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."
Reflecting on that time, Gaga shared with Gates how frequently she was asked about the rumor.
She explained, "When I was in my early 20s there was a rumour 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 they said there was this imagery on the internet that had been doctored.
"They'd say, 'There's rumours that you're a man. What do you have to say about that?'"
As for why she never directly addressed the rumor, Gaga revealed her reasoning.
"The reason why I didn't answer the question is because 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?"
Gaga said that sometimes, it's better to let rumors be instead of trying to "fix" them.
"I've been in situations where fixing a rumour was not in the best interest of the well being of other people," she said.
"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."
Looking back at how tough it could be to deal with false claims early in her career, Gaga shared:
"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."
The tech expert's new five-part series explores globally important topics like AI, global warming, and disease.
What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates is currently available for streaming on Netflix.