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

Lady Gaga
(Image credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

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."

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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."

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Brendan Morrow

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.