"I thought of the well-being of other people"— Lady Gaga explains why she never debunked rumors about being a man

Lady Gaga explained why she never shut down rumors earlier in her career claiming that she is a man. She candidly navigated the misinformation about her during the second episode of Netflix's What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates, that dropped on the streaming platform on Wednesday, September 18.

She told Gates that she "didn't feel like a victim" with the lie about her being a man, and so she didn't feel like she needed to answer that question before. Gaga added:

"I've been in situations where fixing a rumor was not in the best interest of—I thought of the well-being of other people. So in that case, I tried to be thought-provoking and disruptive in another way."

The Bad Romance singer, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, previously addressed the same "Lady Gaga is a Man" rumor about her in 2011 during an interview with Anderson Cooper. She refused to give a straight answer then, saying that she wouldn't waste her time addressing the baseless rumor because "my fans don't care and neither do I."

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Lady Gaga told Bill Gates that rumors about her being a man started in her 20s

Elsewhere in her What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates appearance, Lady Gaga mentioned that she's "used to lies being printed" about her since she was 20 years old. Somehow, reading those lies is "kind of funny" to her, she added. She brought up hearing rumors about her gender in "almost every interview" during her conversation with Gates.

"When I was in my early 20s, there was a rumor that I was a man. I went all over the world. I traveled for yours and for promoting my records and almost every interview I sat in—there was this imagery on the internet that had been doctored—they were like, 'There's rumors that you're a man. What do you have to say about that?'"

The rumor started after pictures of the Telephone singer at the 2009 Glastonbury music festival made rounds online. On leaning into the rumor during her performances, Lady Gag told Bill Gates:

"I tried to use the misinformation to create another disruptive point. People, I think, assume that someone like me that performs that my performance is what's not real, but to me, that's the most real thing that you'll see about me."

After her Glastonbury picture went viral and sparked rumors, Gaga dressed up like a man for the Vogue Hommes Japan cover shoot in 2010, revealing her alter ego called Jo Calderone. Gaga wore the same Drag King look in her You and I music video as well as during his hosting stint at the 2011 VMAs.

Earlier in the episode, Emmy-nominated Lady Gaga candidly spoke about the dangers of the closer proximity of entertainment and information right now than before. She explained how "entertainment as a form of manipulation" plays a big part in her career.