Lady Gaga's latest comeback has been a source of contention among fans and critics, and now the singer is speaking out against her detractors.
Saying she feels persecuted in the media, Gaga told The Guardian, "I certainly feel that at this time it's almost as if people are surprised they haven't already destroyed me. It gives them a sense of pleasure when they believe that they've destroyed me or taken me down. It's almost entertainment for people to poke fun at Lady Gaga, but at the very same time they have no idea the album I've made. They have no idea what I put into this, they have no idea the work that I've put behind my performances and what I do. In fact, people have no idea what it really took for me to get here. So it doesn't bother me, it's just an interesting observation of where we are as a society."
Considering the reign she held over the pop world just a few years ago, Gaga's return has been met with significant vilification. Critics have compared her single to Katy Perry's "Roar", and Perry's extremely successful track vastly outsold Gaga's "Applause." Gaga's recent performance at the MTV Video Music Awards saw mixed reactions, and even she deemed herself "over" in a tongue-in-cheek new ad.
"It's literally not even been two weeks since my first single came out and it's all, 'She's over,' or because I'm not No. 1 yet, 'She's finished,'" Gaga told The Guardian. "People focus less on the music and focus more on how the music's doing; how it's faring from a numbers perspective, from a financial perspective. If you think I give a damn about money, then you don't know me as an artist at all. I think that once you've had a few No. 1's in your career that you've kind of proven yourself, and I don't feel the need to prove anything anymore."
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