Lady Gaga opens up about suffering a 'psychotic break' after being raped: 'I was not the same girl'


Lady Gaga emotionally opened up during an interview for Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey's new documentary about experiencing a "total psychotic break" after being raped and impregnated as a teenager.
The pop star discussed her "experiences with abuse" during a conversation for the first episode of The Me You Can't See, an Apple TV+ documentary about mental health produced by Harry and Winfrey. She describes how when she was 19, a producer demanded she take her clothes off, and when she refused, he threatened to "burn all my music."
Gaga said the person, who she doesn't feel comfortable naming and doesn't "ever want to face" again, raped her and "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."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Gaga, who previously said she developed PTSD after the assault, recalls going to the hospital years later when she couldn't "feel my body" and was sick for "weeks and weeks" afterward.
"I had a total psychotic break, and for a couple years, I was not the same girl," Gaga said, adding, "It's a really very real thing to feel like there's a black cloud that is following you wherever you go, telling you that you're worthless and should die, and I used to scream and throw myself against the wall."
She went on to share that she used to cut herself and said the "process of healing" has been "slow," and it took years for things to start to change. When asked what she was doing during this time, Gaga said, "I won an Oscar. Nobody knew."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Has Israel’s Qatar strike scuppered a ceasefire?
Today’s Big Question Netanyahu ‘gambles’ on ‘overwhelming strength’ rather than diplomacy in attack on Hamas negotiation team in Doha
-
Deaf Republic: ‘an experimental epic of war and resistance’
The Week Recommends Ukrainian-American writer Ilya Kaminsky’s poetry collection is brought to the stage in this ‘enthralling’ production
-
The Week US subscriptions FAQ
How to manage your subscription, get digital access, enquire about delivery problems and renew gift subscriptions
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
The best singers turned actors of all time
In Depth It's not often that someone is born with both of these rare skill sets
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle