Lady Gaga’s meat dress went from rare to well done this week after a firestorm of controversy.
First came the Catholic church’s opposition to the “leak” of her infectious anthem Judas and rumours of the video portraying her as Mary Magdalene. The church claimed that the leak coming so close to Easter was a direct slap in the face to the Catholic church, a claim Gaga’s camp denies.
This was followed up with her using the slur “retarded” when confronted about allegations of sampling Madonna’s Express Yourself for her title track Born This Way and perhaps the biggest scandal of all; snubbing Weird Al Yankovic! (Gaga has since apologized for the slur and allowed Yankovic to put his parody Perform this Way on his album, claiming her manager had balked at the track, not herself).
Lady Gaga (born Stefani Germonatta) is no stranger to controversy. Whether its claiming her new fragrance will reek of blood and semen or claims that her creativity seeps from her vagina, Gaga knows all about controversial antics. In fact, one could claim her career thrives on it. Gaga’s disco trashy beats are coupled with crazy costumes and hilarious sound bytes. However, this is the first time that her controversy has brought her negative attention.
I am of the opinion that Lady Gaga is arguably the smartest person in the entertainment world today. Let’s be honest; Gaga’s tunes are not timeless classics (save for Bad Romance) and in 20 years she will be a “Where are they now” unless she masters Madonna’s art of reinvention. But here in 2011, everything is coming up Gaga. Why not act like a lunatic and make everyone talk about you and your music? Her videos get play just for the curiosity factor alone and the fun dance tracks get stuck in your head until you wind up singing along. What appears to be eccentric could actually be the most calculating mind in show business. She’s going to reap the benefits of Gaga mania for as long as the gravy train holds out and then gracefully go into that good night. Much like the Jersey Shore kids who want to “get in, get rich, get out”, Gaga knows how to make the media bend to her will and always come out looking awesome.
Even this little set back won’t hurt her popularity. Everyone knows there is no such thing as bad press. As long as your name is spelled right, you’re fine. One inappropriate word won’t undo all the work she’s done for LGBT rights and one miscommunication with a beloved satirist won’t hurt her either (especially with Yankovic donating all the proceeds to the Human Rights Commission). If anything, it humanizes Gaga. Suddenly she’s not a larger than life figure; she’s just a normal person who messes up. She just does it wearing a garbage bag and a cow heart.
So, rest easy little monsters, your mother is fine. Now you know even Mother Monsters make mistakes sometimes. It’s just how you carry yourself when you do. She handled herself fine. Now we may all resume our regularily scheduled activity of wondering what she’ll wear/say/do next to creep us out. Creep on Gaga, creep on.
The Misadventures of MHC 