Lady Gaga Faces Backlash Over Super Bowl Photo
Published Feb 13, 2024 at 10:13 AM EST
Updated Feb 16, 2024 at 7:14 AM EST
By Sophie Lloyd Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter
Lady Gaga's Super Bowl photo is causing a stir on social media, with fans questioning the singer's priorities.
The pop star—whose real name is Stefani Germanotta—was one of many celebs to watch the Kansas City Chiefs 25-22 win against the San Francisco 49ers at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium on Sunday.
Donning a 49ers' jersey and glitter eye make-up, the 37-year-old sat with her tech mogul boyfriend Michael Polansky. Ahead of the game, Gaga shared a snap from the stands to Instagram, sticking two fingers up at the field in front of her.
"Lets f****** go," she wrote alongside the photo.
The image received hundreds of comments, but it wasn't the crude language that had users riled up. Some were annoyed that the Golden Globe winner has yet to share her thoughts on the Israel-Hamas conflict, going as far as calling her decision to post from the Super Bowl "disgusting."The Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages, according to the Associated Press. Israel subsequently launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is based.
Israel suspended supplies of food, medicine, energy and fuel into Gaza, later launching a ground offensive into the territory. As of February 13, at least 28,000 people have been killed in Gaza, the AP reports, citing local health authorities.
"Lady Gaga posts about the Super Bowl but has very little if anything to say on the genocide in Palestine," Brian Murphy commented on Instagram.
"Your silence is disappointing to say the least," said Joe Ghafari Nacouzi.
"She cares enough about this game to post about it but not about the thousands of lives lost since last year," wrote @elgranpacheco.
"What's more important is a ceasefire in Gaza," said Jeannina Rose. "Why is a stupid game of ball more important than another human being's life?"
"You choose to play the game of distractions and place yourself in the wrong side of history," commented Mona. "I never imagined being disappointed by you like I am right now."
However, others defended Gaga, accusing other Instagram users of bullying the star.
"What the actual f*** y'all?" wrote Donny Castillo.
"Can't people have empathy and joy on the same day? Why are the choices mutually exclusive," said @go.trippin.
"I'm all for the ceasefire but this is absolutely not the way," commented Jack Greenwood. "I hope you're calling your [government representatives] every single day since they actually have the ability to do something."
"Can't go on anyone's posts without some political [b*******]!" said Nicole Cawood. "She's one person! Go and moan to the people who can actually do something."
Newsweek has reached out to Lady Gaga for comment via email.
Gaga has not commented on the current Israel-Hamas conflict. She is not the only celebrity to face backlash for not sharing her views, with Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez previously coming under fire for not speaking out.
"Fans feel they are entitled to a celebrity's opinion because many celebrities voluntarily offer their viewpoints, but also because our society places an outsized value on those opinions," Chris Bastardi, co-founder of New York-based PR firm Baro Strategies, told Newsweek.Bastardi usually advises celebrities not to make their opinion know, unless they are comfortable with the possibility of losing fans over their thoughts.
"I would otherwise most likely advise them not to opine in general on political issues," he explained.
Although she hasn't publicly discussed the current conflict, her decision to perform in Israel in 2014 caused controversy, with Palestinian advocates asking the star to boycott the country.
After a show in Tel Aviv, the music legend described Israel as a "beautiful place."
"Tel Aviv was magnificent," she told The Independent. "The world view of Israel is just not reality. It's in a beautiful place, the people are in good spirits."
"I had a very emotional show with those fans," she added. "It was wonderful."
The Super Bowl snap isn't the first post from Gaga to cause a stir on social media in 2024. The "Bad Romance" singer shared photos from a recording studio in January, teasing fans about a potential seventh album.
Although she released the album Love for Sale with legendary jazz singer Tony Bennett in 2021 and the single "Hold My Hand" in 2022, this would be Gaga's first solo album since Chromatica in 2020.
Originally published in Newsweek.
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