Lady Gaga opened up about her mental health in a new interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The two kicked off Oprah’s 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus Tour on Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Gaga spoke honestly about managing her fibromyalgia, a disorder that causes muscle and bone pain. She told Oprah that even during their conversation, she was in “head-to-toe pain.”
“What’s interesting about it is that I’ve found through neuropsych research and my relationship with my doctors that fibromyalgia can be treated through mental health therapy,” Gaga told Oprah.
She also talked about being raped “repeatedly” by someone she knew growing up, which led to her developing PTSD. During that time, her career skyrocketed, but she wasn’t seeing a doctor or therapist who could help her unpack her trauma. “I all of a sudden became a star and was traveling the world going from hotel room to garage to limo to stage, and I never dealt with it, and then all of a sudden I started to experience this incredible intense pain throughout my entire body that mimicked the illness I felt after I was raped,” she said.
Gaga later revealed that she suffered a “psychotic break,” which was triggered by sitting for a deposition. While she never said why or when she was deposed, the only deposition that she’s been involved with that we know of, was Dr. Luke’s defamation lawsuit against Kesha in September 2017.
In the end, Gaga assured the audience that music is her priority. “We’re having a self-care conversation but I’m still going to make music, don’t worry.”
This winter, Oprah’s 2020 Vision Tour will feature conversations with Tina Fey, Jennifer Lopez, and Michelle Obama, ending with Gayle King on March 7 in Denver, Colorado.
Watch Oprah's interview with Lady Gaga above.
