The “Abracadabra” singer also admits she was on lithium during the making of ‘A Star Is Born,” and shares her thoughts about the critical backlash of ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ and why she became “so unhinged.”
Lady Gaga has offered a candid look into her mental health journey, revealing she was taking the medication lithium while filming her Oscar-nominated movie, A Star Is Born, and crediting her fiancé, Michael Polansky, for helping her recover from a subsequent psychotic break.
In a new cover story interview with Rolling Stone, the 39-year-old “Abracadabra” singer and actress discussed the extreme highs and crushing lows she faced just a few years ago.
Gaga admitted that her mindset during the making of the 2018 film was significantly altered. “I did A Star Is Born on lithium,” she revealed to the outlet, referring to the medication commonly prescribed to treat bipolar disorder and other mood conditions.
The period immediately following the film’s production proved even more challenging. During her Joanne World Tour, which began in late 2017, Gaga experienced what she described as a complete psychological collapse. She ultimately had to cancel the final 10 shows of the tour, citing chronic pain at the time.
Reflecting on the crisis, Gaga detailed the severity of the episode. The singer recalled the emotional toll it took, saying, “There was one day that my sister said to me, ‘I don’t see my sister anymore.'”
The experience forced her to seek immediate psychiatric care and stop touring entirely. “I needed to take a break,” she confessed to Rolling Stone. “I couldn’t do anything … I completely crashed. It was really scary.”
She continued: “There was a time where I didn’t think I could get better.… I feel really lucky to be alive. I know that might sound dramatic, but we know how this can go.”
Gaga credits her recovery and current sense of stability to her fiancé, businessman Michael Polansky. She explained that his unwavering support provided the foundation she needed to heal and rediscover herself.
“Being in love with someone that cares about the real me made a very big difference,” she said. Gaga also pondered the challenge of finding authentic connection during such a turbulent time: “How do you learn how to be yourself with someone when you don’t know how to be yourself with anyone?” She now affirms that she feels she’s “a healthy, whole person.”
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The singer, who recently starred as Harley Quinn in the DC sequel Joker: Folie à Deux, also offered a philosophical take on the polarized reception of that film.
“There was a ton of negativity around Joker,” she told the outlet. “And I think I was feeling artistically rebellious at the time.”
When asked about the highly negative reviews the maligned musical sequel received from critics and fans, Gaga revealed that she responded in a appropriately Joker-esque way: with a laugh.
“I wasn’t like unfazed,” she said with a smile on her face, according to the outlet. “It’s funny, I’m almost nervous to share my reaction. But the truth is, when it first started happening, I started laughing. Because it was just getting so unhinged.”
But that initially amusement eventually faded and all the negativity eventually sunk in — something she’d later use as a creative weapon.
“When it takes a while for something to kind of dissipate, that can be a little more painful. Only because I put a lot of myself into it,” she said.
The “Disease” music video that followed, was her answer to all that negativity.
“I put so much of that energy into that video,” she revealed. “I was in that place, you know, I was like, ‘I’ll show you who I am, and I’ll show you what this fight is like.'”
Head over to Rolling Stone to read Gaga’s cover story in its entirety.
