14 DAY TRIAL // Late on Friday, Lady Gaga’s second single off the “Born This Way” album leaked online. Her camp rush-released “Judas,” 4 days ahead of the official date, and religious leaders have been voicing their outrage over the lyrics ever since.
Lady Gaga has never been a stranger to controversy, but even for her, “Judas” may be too much, they’re saying.
“When he comes to me, I am ready/ I’ll wash his feet with my hair if he needs/ Forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain/ Even after three times, he betrays me/ I’ll bring him down, a king with no crown…” Gaga sings on “Judas.”
Since she’s Mary Magdalene in the song, it’s no wonder that religious leaders are all fuming mad at it. However, the intention was never to offend, camp Gaga says in a new interview cited by E! Online.
Gaga is only using religious elements to make a point – and, at the same time, to create a “new Jerusalem,” Gaga’s creative director Laurieann Gibson says.
“It went through several changes and late-night debates because at one point, there were two completely different views and I was like, ‘Listen, I don’t want lightning to strike me! I believe in the gospel and I’m not going there’,” Gibson says.
Eventually, they went for the least offensive version.
“And it was amazing because to have that conversation about salvation, peace and the search for the truth in a room of non-believers and believers, to me, that was saying God is active in a big way,” Gibson adds.
“And the place that it came to is surreal. We don’t touch on things that we have no right touching upon, but the inspiration and the soul and idea that out of your oppression, your darkness, your Judas, you can come into the marvelous light,” she says.
“Judas” is not about Gaga going out of her way to offend by belittling religious beliefs. Neither it is a pop song that’s trying to cause a ruckus for no apparent reason.
“It’s about the inspiration and to never give up… We’ve created a new Jerusalem,” Gibson stresses.
Below is Lady Gaga’s second single, “Judas.” The album “Born This Way” (official cover attached to this article), is out on May 23.