Gaga’s University Peers Had A FB Group Dedicated To Shaming Her For Trying To Be Famous
1.3Mviews
One of the things that A Star is Born has taught me is that no one becomes great without going through some sort of adversity. And this story from Lady Gaga’s personal life only proves it. When she was only starting out her career, her haters created a Facebook group called “Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous.” Recently, people found out about this secret little (and I mean little) community, and immediately fell in love with the irony of it.
Image credits: majdgeorge98
Another woman, Lauren Bohn, was a freshman at NYC when she spotted the group. She brought it to media’s attention in 2016 with a powerful Facebook post:
“When I was a freshman at NYU and Facebook was only a year old and people created/joined groups like “I have dimples, f*** me” and “Fake ID, please!,”
I remember coming across a Facebook group that broke my heart
It’s name: “Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous.” The page housed pictures of a pretty Norah Jones-esque young 18-year-old NYU student who sang and played piano at local bars. The group was peppered with comments, sharp as porcupine needles, vilifying the aspiring musician for being an “attention-whore.” Scores asked: “Who does she think she is?” I also remember one dude posting a flyer for one of her upcoming gigs at a local village bar. He had clearly stomped on the flyer, an outline of his muddy sole [soul] struggling to eclipse her name.
I couldn’t shake the raw feeling of filth while scrolling down that Facebook page
but I pretty much — and quickly — forgot about that group and that girl with the intense raven eyes. Until about five years later. I was on an Amtrak train from NYC to Philly, reading a Vanessa Grigoriadis New York Magazine profile on Lady Gaga. I floated somewhat mindlessly through the piece until I got to the first sentence of the second graf:
“Before the meeting, I assumed that someone with a stage name like “Lady” (her given name is Stefani Joanne Germanotta) was going to be a bit standoffish…” HOLY S**T, I screamed to an empty car (Those who hang with me will know that I actually shrieked). LADY GAGA IS STEFANI GERMANOTTA? STEFANI IS LADY GAGA? I was overcome with a dizzying emotional cocktail of stage-mom-at-a-beauty-pageant and nerd-revenge triumph. But also shame. Shame that I never wrote on that group
Shame that I never defended the girl with the intense raven eyes
— the girl whose brave flyers were stomped on, probably somewhere near my dorm. But again, I soon forgot about that revelation and that feeling. Feelings. They’re so fleeting. Even more so, revelations. We need to constantly re-discover them every damn day. Like last week, when I woke up to this meme. I saw the muddy sole eclipsing her name. The eye-rolls. The cowardly virtual-giggles. The “Who does she think she is?”
I’ve got a lot of feelings, but the easiest one to articulate: gratitude
Stefani, thank you. Thank you for always thinking you’re a superstar, for using your cracks to let the light come out more brightly. Humans, let’s follow suit.”
Image credits: fanpop
Lady Gaga’s college experience wasn’t the first time she experienced severe bullying. Her parents enrolled her at Convent of Sacred Heart, an Upper East Side Catholic private school, where she got her first taste of how cruel kids could be. From then on it didn’t stop.
Image credits: unknown
“I used to do these really big Evita brows,” Gaga told Rolling Stone in 2011. “I used to self-tan, and I had this really intense tan in school, and people would say, ‘Why the fuck are you so orange, why do you do your hair that way, are you a dyke? Why do you have to look like that for school?’ I used to be called a slut, be called this, be called that. I didn’t even want to go to school sometimes.”
Image credits: cnn
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and despite her naysayers, she has always had an insurmountable drive. At 11, she began voice lessons with Don Lawrence, Christina Aguilera’s singing coach, who she continued with even as her career took off. In addition to singing, she learned how to play classical piano and took acting classes – both skills that would lead to her pivotal Oscar moment.
Image credits: ladygaga
Focused on her music career, she enrolled at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, but always the risk-taker, Gaga dropped out not long eager to start her real-world musician experience. “I left my entire family, got the cheapest apartment I could find and ate shit until somebody would listen,” she told New York Magazine.
Image credits: ladygaga
Known for her more audacious looks in her early career, with giant sunglasses and meat dresses, her music foundation carried through into her pop music. “I was classically trained as a pianist, and that innately teaches you how to write a pop song,” Gaga told the Telegraph. “Because when you learn Bach inversions, it has the same sort of modulations between the chords. It’s all about tension and release.”
Image credits: ladygaga
At 19-years-old the star thought maybe she had found her big break when Def Jam records signed her, but it wasn’t to be. Three months into the deal, the label informed her that she just wasn’t for them. As usual, she remained determined. In 2008 Gaga’s boyfriend, Rob Fusari brought Gaga to Interscope records not as a singer but as a songwriter, and from there – a star was born. She wrote hits for major artists such as Fergie, the Pussycat Dolls, and even Britney Spears. While at the label, Gaga recorded a reference vocal for one of her songs; the stars aligned, and Akon heard the demo and signed her.
Image credits: ladygaga
Through let-downs, bullies, and rejections Gaga has become a renowned singer and actress. She has been nominated for 24 Grammys and won nine of them. In 2018 she made her grand acting debut in A Star Is Born and won an Oscar for her billboard topping hit and soundtrack song ‘Shallow.’
Image credits: ladygaga
In her Oscars acceptance speech, she had some inspirational words for all the struggling artists out there that identify with her: “If you are at home, and you’re sitting on your couch, and you’re watching this right now, all I have to say is that this is hard work. I’ve worked hard for a long time, and it’s not about, you know…it’s not about winning. But what it’s about is not giving up. If you have a dream, fight for it. There’s a discipline for passion. And it’s not about how many times you get rejected, or you fall, or you’re beaten up. It’s about how many times you stand up and are brave, and you keep on going.”
Image credits: AP
People had a lot to say about the situation
Image credits: KimHuntHarris
Image credits: jonochapman82
Image credits: Defiler_Wyrm
Image credits: Major_Zeff
Image credits: GastronautaDF
Image credits: krs10_
Image credits: hiba_ahmed67
Image credits: maseratishaunny
Image credits: angiewangg
Image credits: _CaiaC
1.3Mviews
Share on Facebook
Lady Gaga was a lovely young lady then, and is just stunning now. I like her music and her extravagant costumes. Now to those nasty mean girls. I hope they get a little more crazy and mad when her songs come on the radio. She is the epitome of the old adage the best revenge is living well. And she is an example of a life well lived.
It is highly unlikely that any of this story is real. For example, Facebook groups and expanded membership were only added in the second half of 2006. That's a full year after Gaga dropped out. The author was a freshman when she saw the group, therefore, gaga wouldnt have been at college at the same time as her. So you have to wonder why would a freshman have sought out a private group about a former student she would never have met and is unlikely to even have heard of and also then remember the name for five years. Also, a cursory look at gagas career history tells you post 2006 she was already getting serious traction and unlikely to be playing village bars or handing out flyers. Maybe she was bullied at college, but it's highly unlikely any of this story is real and any of the people mentioned knew or had heard of her at the time everything was meant to have taken place.
Groups were added in late 2005. It was redesigned in March of 2006.
Hey, let’s not let facts ruin emotionally charged nonsense.
This isn't correct, Thomas. I was in college from Aug 2005 to May 2006 and was definitely in facebook groups at the time. I think Linh's timeline might be more accurate.
"So you have to wonder why would a freshman have sought out a private group about a former student she would never have met and is unlikely to even have heard of and also then remember the name for five years." Even if you're right, it is so UTTERLY CLEAR that you have never been bullied.
This comment has been deleted.
Bro s**t the f**k up and stop manspalining and crawl back into your moms f*****g basement
The sooner all of us realize that people who exist only to hurt, and bully are usually unhappy with their own lives. They put others down to try and raise themselves up, yet are to scared to admit their own shortcomings. My guess is that the creators of this,group were to scared to chase their own dreams. Lady Gaga does not have the last laugh, because there was never any thing to prove to these people.
That's actually not true. We like to tell ourselves that, but someone did a study seven or eight years ago and found exactly the opposite. Bullies ARE happy with their lives. For all of those that acted out as kids because of bad things at home, there are ten who really do just enjoy putting people down AND they really do think they are "better" and should have the right do do it. ...///... I had to read the article twice, and then thought about the bullies that I knew (and avoided like poison) in school...and I had to admit they're right. These were privileged kids who were given everything they ever asked for and their idea of fun was to let everyone else know it.
Very true, Messy. I think we like to tell ourselves that bullies have to have something "wrong" with them externally....a broken home, abuse, neglect...and that is frequently the case. But some generalize that WAY too much and turn all bullies into a victim of some kind; when in reality, some people are just pricks. Many are very happy with their lives, and STILL find pleasure in others pain. That thought is uncomfortable for many, so they chalk up all bullying behavior as an "outlet" for the bully...when sometimes it is just that they are big, fat JERKS. Not everyone is nice, and some have no reason to be mean other than they just ARE.
I was bullied - and one of them voluntarily apologised to me on Facebook. Kids know not what they do - until later in life.. She is now a Lawyer.
I hope people don't go ape-shit political on me but that sounds like Trump. Bullies being happy with their lives.
Here is something I tell my kids about and adult friends, as an unfortunate life lesson I can never fix. When I was in elementary school in east Tennessee, my bus ride each way was an hour and a half. This was because our bus left the suburbs and traveled through the mountains to pick up some very very poor kids. Kids without running water and barely a roof. One of these kids was in high school. Everyone made fun of him, turned his last name into "Moron". He stoically ignored them. Eventually he was joined by his 2 small siblings, who huddled together scared of the jeers and rudeness. This was the way it was until I graduated. I never took part in the teasing but I didnt speak up either. I think of them a lot. I can't do anything for them now, but I remember them and speak up when I need to, teach my kids to be better people and make kinder choices.
not neseserly I believe its a mix
You mean like putting people down for having middle-class jobs and boasting about your condo in Palm Beach and trips to Italy?
That's my mother, AM.
So happyness was nk real happyness, it was a fake happyness beeing fed by power. A happy kid you cant bring it down, a fake kid you can bring it down by taking this toy away.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
So SOMEONE Did a Study LOL no names just that you read this somewhere so it has to be true. Herb Eaversmells is right people that bully are insecure and very unhappy....
No. Just no. I agree with Aunt Messy. I know the in crowd in my high school were solidly upper middle class, (we all lived in the same single family housing development) smug and nasty. Fast forward twenty-five years to the reunion. We're all about 42. They're still smug and nasty, and didn't have the courtesy to say hello. I was pregnant, there with my darling husband, and they were still smug and nasty. And one is a pastor.
As Alfred said in Batman (correct me if I'm wrong) "Some men just want to watch the world burn."
'too' scared
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
It seems that you're attempting to absolve those assholes of treating Gaga with such cruelty, all while trying to undermine her accomplishments and success. You can go fuck yourself.
Making a group to shame other people makes me lose faith in humanity.
I know several people who would have done that. And now I laugh at them.
@Moron Banda - Really? They're all squatting like fat toads in the same neighbourhood they grew up in, having married each other and produced acres of yardapes that do the same thing they do. They peaked in high school and have done nothing since. They're all in boring lower middle class jobs and all they talk about is high school....and we graduated in 1981. ...///... I'll be spending some time in my condo in Palm Springs this winter before I head off to Italy for a wedding. I EARNED my life. They're just rotting in place.
I know actually what you mean @Aunt Messy. Not everyone has experience this, it’s not their fault- it’s their upbringing... LOL
you're no better than they are
@Ruth Mayfly— yep, pretty sure they haven’t experience real bullying! Hopefully they’ll get a clue someday. LOL
If someone is inspired enough to tell you that you are not as good as them, you're doing something right to instill said jealousy. Revel in that...
Lady Gaga was a lovely young lady then, and is just stunning now. I like her music and her extravagant costumes. Now to those nasty mean girls. I hope they get a little more crazy and mad when her songs come on the radio. She is the epitome of the old adage the best revenge is living well. And she is an example of a life well lived.
It is highly unlikely that any of this story is real. For example, Facebook groups and expanded membership were only added in the second half of 2006. That's a full year after Gaga dropped out. The author was a freshman when she saw the group, therefore, gaga wouldnt have been at college at the same time as her. So you have to wonder why would a freshman have sought out a private group about a former student she would never have met and is unlikely to even have heard of and also then remember the name for five years. Also, a cursory look at gagas career history tells you post 2006 she was already getting serious traction and unlikely to be playing village bars or handing out flyers. Maybe she was bullied at college, but it's highly unlikely any of this story is real and any of the people mentioned knew or had heard of her at the time everything was meant to have taken place.
Groups were added in late 2005. It was redesigned in March of 2006.
Hey, let’s not let facts ruin emotionally charged nonsense.
This isn't correct, Thomas. I was in college from Aug 2005 to May 2006 and was definitely in facebook groups at the time. I think Linh's timeline might be more accurate.
"So you have to wonder why would a freshman have sought out a private group about a former student she would never have met and is unlikely to even have heard of and also then remember the name for five years." Even if you're right, it is so UTTERLY CLEAR that you have never been bullied.
This comment has been deleted.
Bro s**t the f**k up and stop manspalining and crawl back into your moms f*****g basement
The sooner all of us realize that people who exist only to hurt, and bully are usually unhappy with their own lives. They put others down to try and raise themselves up, yet are to scared to admit their own shortcomings. My guess is that the creators of this,group were to scared to chase their own dreams. Lady Gaga does not have the last laugh, because there was never any thing to prove to these people.
That's actually not true. We like to tell ourselves that, but someone did a study seven or eight years ago and found exactly the opposite. Bullies ARE happy with their lives. For all of those that acted out as kids because of bad things at home, there are ten who really do just enjoy putting people down AND they really do think they are "better" and should have the right do do it. ...///... I had to read the article twice, and then thought about the bullies that I knew (and avoided like poison) in school...and I had to admit they're right. These were privileged kids who were given everything they ever asked for and their idea of fun was to let everyone else know it.
Very true, Messy. I think we like to tell ourselves that bullies have to have something "wrong" with them externally....a broken home, abuse, neglect...and that is frequently the case. But some generalize that WAY too much and turn all bullies into a victim of some kind; when in reality, some people are just pricks. Many are very happy with their lives, and STILL find pleasure in others pain. That thought is uncomfortable for many, so they chalk up all bullying behavior as an "outlet" for the bully...when sometimes it is just that they are big, fat JERKS. Not everyone is nice, and some have no reason to be mean other than they just ARE.
I was bullied - and one of them voluntarily apologised to me on Facebook. Kids know not what they do - until later in life.. She is now a Lawyer.
I hope people don't go ape-shit political on me but that sounds like Trump. Bullies being happy with their lives.
Here is something I tell my kids about and adult friends, as an unfortunate life lesson I can never fix. When I was in elementary school in east Tennessee, my bus ride each way was an hour and a half. This was because our bus left the suburbs and traveled through the mountains to pick up some very very poor kids. Kids without running water and barely a roof. One of these kids was in high school. Everyone made fun of him, turned his last name into "Moron". He stoically ignored them. Eventually he was joined by his 2 small siblings, who huddled together scared of the jeers and rudeness. This was the way it was until I graduated. I never took part in the teasing but I didnt speak up either. I think of them a lot. I can't do anything for them now, but I remember them and speak up when I need to, teach my kids to be better people and make kinder choices.
not neseserly I believe its a mix
You mean like putting people down for having middle-class jobs and boasting about your condo in Palm Beach and trips to Italy?
That's my mother, AM.
So happyness was nk real happyness, it was a fake happyness beeing fed by power. A happy kid you cant bring it down, a fake kid you can bring it down by taking this toy away.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
So SOMEONE Did a Study LOL no names just that you read this somewhere so it has to be true. Herb Eaversmells is right people that bully are insecure and very unhappy....
No. Just no. I agree with Aunt Messy. I know the in crowd in my high school were solidly upper middle class, (we all lived in the same single family housing development) smug and nasty. Fast forward twenty-five years to the reunion. We're all about 42. They're still smug and nasty, and didn't have the courtesy to say hello. I was pregnant, there with my darling husband, and they were still smug and nasty. And one is a pastor.
As Alfred said in Batman (correct me if I'm wrong) "Some men just want to watch the world burn."
'too' scared
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
It seems that you're attempting to absolve those assholes of treating Gaga with such cruelty, all while trying to undermine her accomplishments and success. You can go fuck yourself.
Making a group to shame other people makes me lose faith in humanity.
I know several people who would have done that. And now I laugh at them.
@Moron Banda - Really? They're all squatting like fat toads in the same neighbourhood they grew up in, having married each other and produced acres of yardapes that do the same thing they do. They peaked in high school and have done nothing since. They're all in boring lower middle class jobs and all they talk about is high school....and we graduated in 1981. ...///... I'll be spending some time in my condo in Palm Springs this winter before I head off to Italy for a wedding. I EARNED my life. They're just rotting in place.
I know actually what you mean @Aunt Messy. Not everyone has experience this, it’s not their fault- it’s their upbringing... LOL
you're no better than they are
@Ruth Mayfly— yep, pretty sure they haven’t experience real bullying! Hopefully they’ll get a clue someday. LOL
If someone is inspired enough to tell you that you are not as good as them, you're doing something right to instill said jealousy. Revel in that...