Content warning: This article contains mature themes.
Lady Gaga is a wild one. She doesn’t just do fame, she flips it on its head, sets it on fire (quite literally), and struts through the ashes in a meat dress. And I live for it.
From making red carpets feel like performance art to throwing shade at icons before her (the Madge drama was real!), Gaga’s never been afraid to get weird, crazy, or controversial. I mean, even her album is titled Mayhem, which says it all.
Love her or be totally confused by her, one thing’s for sure: Mother Monster keeps us all watching with her unhinged behavior. So, behold, Pop Tellers! Just for the sake of going down memory lane, I’m here to round up Lady Gaga’s biggest controversies and most iconic WTF moments yet.
Lady Gaga’s Craziest, Most Wildest Moments
Jump to:
- Fire-Bra at the MMVAs
- Bleeds at the VMAs
- ‘Bad Romance’ Anime Eyes
- Anti-Religious Accusations
- Indecent Exposure
- Raw Meat Dress
- Flips Off Fans
- Egg Hatching at the Grammys
- Dresses as a Man
- ‘Fame’ Perfume Claims
- Indonesian Tour is Cancelled
- Tattoo on Stage
- Threatened With Arrest In Russia
- Cockroach Hat Request
- Wears a Furry Headpiece
- Human Horse at the AMAs
- Vomited On at SXSW
- Madonna Feud
- Sexual Abuse Allgeations
- Defending Dylan Mulvaney
1. Gaga Wears a Fire-Bra at the MMVAs
Mother Monster knew how to get the people talking from day one. During the early days of her career at the 2009 MuchMusic Awards in Toronto, the hitmaker ended her Love Game/Poker Face set by literally shooting fire from her bra. Marked as one of Lady Gaga’s first ever controversies, she wore fire flaming boobs and the crowd went absolutely crazy for it.
2. Gaga Bleeds on Stage at the VMAs
During the 2009 VMAs, Gaga went full horror show for her shocking performance. While performing Paparazzi, she started bleeding from her ribs (fake blood, don’t panic), collapsed, and hung from the ceiling like a dead swan. Everyone in the crowd? Shooketh.
But Gaga later said her show symbolized the media’s obsession with celebrity death. “If I’m gonna be sexy on the VMAs and sing about the paparazzi, I’m gonna do it while I’m bleeding to death and reminding you of what fame did to Marilyn Monroe… and what it did to Anna Nicole Smith,” she said in her 2017 documentary, Gaga: Five Foot Two.
3. Gaga Wears Anime Eyes in ‘Bad Romance‘ Video
In the Bad Romance video, the best-selling artist sported massive anime-style eyes, digitally enhanced to look like a real-life Bratz doll. Fans loved the surreal bug-eye trend so much, that teens began copying the look using circle lenses. This sparked concern from doctors, who claimed the illegal lenses posed risks. Leave it to Gaga to make people risk eye damage in the name of fashion, right?
4. Gaga is Accused of Mocking Catholic Church
Religious groups lost it over Gaga’s controversial Judas video where she played a leather-clad Mary Magdalene torn between Jesus and Judas. The Catholic League’s president said, “She is trying to rip off Christian idolatry to shore up her talentless, mundane and boring performances.”
Her later music video for Alejandro also shocked the masses as she swallowed rosary beads in a latex nun getup. This triggered Gaga’s famous celebrity feud with Katy Perry when she said of the video: “Using blasphemy as entertainment is as cheap as a comedian telling a fart joke.” But Gaga clapped back saying her video was “a celebration of my love and appreciation for the gay community, my admiration of their bravery, their love for one another, and their courage in relationships.”
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5. Gaga’s Cited for Indecent Exposure
Back in 2009, Gaga strolled through Chicago in fishnets, a bra, and teeny hotpants until the cops stopped her for “indecent exposure.”
“It’s fashion! I’m an artist!,” she apparently yelled at the police. Following the awkward event, the Haus Labs mogul told Contactmusic [via Digital Spy], “It’s not that I don’t like pants. I just choose not to wear them some days. I think no pants is sexy. I love the naked human body. I was working in strip clubs when I was 18.” A relatable mood for summertime in Chicago, I guess…
6. Gaga Wears The Raw Meat Dress
PETA freaked out and the fashion world was shook. No one can forget Gaga pulling up to the 2010 VMAs in a dress made of real beef. Like… steak-on-skin real. She claimed it was a political statement against the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy: “It’s certainly no disrespect to anyone that’s vegan or vegetarian…If we don’t stand up for what we believe in… we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on our bones,” she explained to Ellen DeGeneres.
7. Gaga Attends Baseball Game in Her Underwear
I mean, this isn’t exactly Gaga’s biggest scandal (today’s stars have done much worse), but it was sure worth a headline back in 2010. The artist was photographed crashing a Yankees game in a bra, panties, and unbuttoned jersey, flipping off fans and paparazzi. According to New York Post, the singer had a meltdown over the photographers covering the game. “She went up to the box and said, ‘F- – – you! F- – – you!’ to the photographers who were messing up the game for everyone else,” a source revealed at the time.
8. Gaga Hatches from an Egg at The Grammys
This one will crack you up (pun intended). Back in 2011, Lady Gaga arrived at the Grammys incubated inside a translucent egg, until she hatched on stage during her performance of Born This Way. She claims to have been stuck in the egg for “72 hours” telling Ryan Seacrest, “It was a very creative experience, and it was time for me to prepare and really think about the meaning [of the song].”
9. Gaga Dresses as a Man, Hits on Britney Spears
At the 2011 VMAs, Gaga ditched her glam for Jo Calderone: her greasy, chain-smoking male alter ego. Staying in character all night (ngl, it was an Oscar-worthy performance), Gaga made a move on Britney Spears while handing her the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Brit swerved the kiss, hard, and fans were confused. But this weird performance still goes down as one of Gaga’s craziest moments. Good thing Brit later thanked Gaga for her support.
10. Gaga Claims Her Perfume Smells of Blood and Semen
Only Gaga could make bodily fluids chic. When promoting her perfume ‘Fame,’ in 2012, she casually dropped that it would smell like “blood and semen” to evoke the raw, primal essence of fame and sexuality—”like an expensive hooker.” Though the final scent includes saffron, honey, and jasmine, she insisted the blood came from her own sample:
“It’s like having me on your skin.” Symbolic, not literal, but still peak Gaga-level weird. “You just get the after feeling of sex,” she told The Kyle and Jackie O Show. The perfume ended up outselling Beyoncé and Madonna’s fragrances.
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11. Gaga’s Indonesian Tour Cancelled Over Safety Threats
Indonesia said girl, bye in 2012 following Lady Gaga’s long string of controversies. The singer’s Jakarta show was cancelled after Islamic extremist groups called her a “devil’s messenger” who wears only a “bra and panties.” One group even threatened violence if she performed. With 50,000 tickets sold, Gaga had to pull out for safety reasons. “I’m so very sorry to the fans & just as devastated as you if not more. You are everything to me,” she tweeted.
12. Gaga Gets Head Tattooed Live on Stage
In yet another of her OMG moments, Gaga shaved her head live on stage at her Fame perfume launch in NYC to honor a friend’s passing (Terry Richardson’s mother). She then proceeded to get it tattooed, right there in front of the crowd. A big angel cherub inked across the back of her skull. Nbd, right? “It was just a perfect image for that place on the body,” she spoke of the shocking tattoo. Fans were both moved and horrified. Peak Gaga.
13. Gaga is Threatened With Arrest In Russia
Russia wasn’t ready for Gaga’s message of inclusivity back in 2012. She was accused of promoting “gay propaganda” (more like speaking out for gay rights) at a concert in St Petersburg which resulted in officials threatening to fine and arrest her. Gaga clapped back on Twitter writing, “Why didn’t you arrest me when you had the chance, Russia?”
14. Gaga Says She Wants a Cockroach Hat
One thing about Gaga? She’s not afraid to do the most, even if it means acting totally unhinged. In 2012, the star was rumored to have requested a hat made of live cockroaches. Gross, right? Apparently, a study by NY students found the bugs ‘responded’ most to Gaga’s music, which led to her request. She then dubbed them her “real life monsters.” I mean, why? But for Gaga, weird is the point.
15. Gaga Wears a Furry Headpiece
Either Gaga couldn’t be bothered to do her makeup that day, or she had an acne breakout. Relatable? In October 2013, Gaga stepped out in Berlin with a fur block over her head, a matching fur coat, and beak-like nose from Charlie Le Mindu’s Fall 2013 Haute Coiffure collection. Safe to say this is one of Gaga’s weirdest outfits to date.
16. Gaga Arrives at the AMAs on a Human Horse
The Abracadabra singer is known for her grand entrances, but even this one was a head-turner. At the 2013 American Music Awards, Lady Gaga rode in on a white Trojan-style horse made of people. Those poor humans carrying her? Heroes.
17. Gaga is Covered in Vomit at SXSW
At SXSW 2014, Gaga brought a performance artist on stage to chug green liquid and puke it onto her. Yes, actual puke, all over Gaga while she performed Swine. Demi Lovato was not having it, tweeting, “Sad… As if we didn’t have enough people glamorizing eating disorders already. Bottom line, it’s not “cool” or “artsy” at all.” Gaga later defended it as “art in its purest form,” but critics dragged her for romanticizing bulimia. Messy, indeed.
18. Gaga Throws Shade at Madonna
Critics have forever compared Lady Gaga to Madonna, and it’s clear Gaga has had enough. When Zane Lowe related her to the 80’s pop princess, Gaga bit back, saying, “I play a lot of instruments. I write all my own music… I’m a producer, I’m a writer. What I do is different.” She even called Madonna “a nice lady,” which felt lowkey shady. Madonna didn’t respond, but let’s not forget it was Madge who initially referred to Gaga’s music as “reductive” in a 2012 interview. Oof, diva wars are brutal.
19. Gaga Opens Up About Being Raped by a Music Producer
This may be one of the rawest things she’s ever opened up about. When Gaga revealed she was raped at 19 by a music producer, it shook everyone. In The Me You Can’t See, she shared, “They dropped me off pregnant on a corner… I was vomiting, sick.” Adding that the undisclosed producer threatened to burn her music if she did not take her clothes off, Gaga said the trauma led to a “total psychotic break” years later.
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20. Gaga Defends Women’s Day Post With Dylan Mulvaney
After an International Women’s Day post with Dylan Mulvaney sparked nasty comments in 2024, Gaga clapped back on Instagram: “It’s appalling… this is not backlash. This is hatred, and this kind of hatred is violence.” The post featured the trans influencer/activist in a sparkly black mini dress leaning over Gaga’s shoulders. While trolls flooded Dylan’s comments, Gaga didn’t back down.
As someone who’s always been loud about LGBTQ+ rights, she said, “I feel very protective in this moment, not only of Dylan, but of the trans community who continues to lead the way with their endless grace and inspiration in the face of constant degradation, intolerance, and physical, verbal, and mental violence.”
For all the chaos, controversy, and jaw-dropping stunts, Gaga has stayed true to one thing: being unapologetically herself. And for that, I’ll forever stan her, no matter how weird she gets.
Now, I want to know which of Lady Gaga’s controversies live rent-free in your head? Sound off in the comments.
Originally published in March 2018.
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