14 DAY TRIAL // Gaga may love her “little monsters,” as she likes to call her fans, but the monsters are not pleased with her. More and more people are adding their name to the online petition that asks the “Born This Way” singer to cut all ties with “vomit artist” Millie Brown.
At the moment, there are over 10,000 signatures on the petition that blasts Gaga's performance at the SXSW Festival last week as glamorizing eating disorders. The singer had invited “vomit” artists Millie Brown to literally throw up on her a green liquid she kept drinking from a bottle while she performed her latest song “Swine.”
Fans argued that using such “imagery that could trigger fans struggling [with disorders].” The same point was made by Demi Lovato last week who tweeted to Gaga that she was making bulimia cool. Lovato has struggled with eating disorders in the past, as did Gaga herself.
Regardless of all the attention, Gaga stands by her act and claims that she was aware she was going to cause some controversy: “I guess we weren't completely surprised. [Millie Brown] and I know that not everybody's going to love that performance,” according to Entertainmentwise.
She goes on to explain the concept behind her “vomit performance” by saying that “ARTPOP, my new album, is about bringing art and music together and the spirit of creative rebellion. For us, that performance was art in its purest form. But we totally understand that some people won't be into it.”
Her defense continues with acknowledging that sometimes she does get caught up in the moment, and that has gotten her in trouble before “Did we want the controversy? I suppose it doesn't matter. Either way, we don't make things for any intention in particular other than in the spirit of entertaining the crowd and creating something that is really for the moment.”
Another point she makes is the fact that the show wasn't meant to reach such a wide audience, as she considered the crowds in Austin as a bit more experimental than the mainstream “It wasn't meant for the Today show. It was meant for a club performance in Austin, and we had a great time.”
In the end, Gaga chooses to use a somewhat philosophical approach that hints towards her artistic spirit. “I will let the whims of life take me where they may,” she says and patiently adds “I really love my fans and want to continue making music for them. I'm already writing new music.”