How Lady Gaga Was ‘Humiliated’ And ‘Taunted,’ Causing Her To Question Her Self-Worth

Lady Gaga started struggling with her mental health when she was very young. And her mom detailed how saddening it was to see that her once aspirational daughter start to question her self-worth.

According to Cynthia Germanotta, her daughter Stefani was very unique, and not a lot of people understood why she was different from everyone else. As such, Gaga was humiliated, bullied, made fun of and isolated by her peers. All of these things impacted the singer negatively.

When the “Poker Face” singer was in middle school, Gaga’s mom noticed that her daughter has changed from being the happy young girl to someone who would constantly criticize and question herself. During that time, Gaga’s mom had no idea how to help her daughter.

“When I was growing up, times were different,” she said. “The way that we would deal with things is what I learned. That’s what I resorted to. You know, I relied on getting a grip. I relied on the generational grit of just sucking it up and getting on with it,” she added.

Years later, Gaga and her mom teamed up to create the Born This Way Foundation, an organization that helps educate people on mental health and emotional wellness. Gaga’s mom also gave everyone important advice if ever their children are struggling with their mental health. She said that the most important thing that parents can do is to listen to their kids.

“I think as parents, our natural instinct is to go into problem-solving mode. When, in fact, you know, they really just want us to take them seriously and understand what they’re saying,” she said.

Based on the researches that they have conducted, Gaga and her mom found out that most children don’t tell their parents their problems for fear that they will be judged or reprimanded. And since parents don’t normally share their problems with their kids, the youngsters don’t know the concept of vulnerability at home.

“Talk about your current or past struggles. So, it really models healthy conversations and good behavior,” she said. “The biggest thing is to really talk to them. And it’s certainly okay to not be okay,” she said.