Criticism of ageism

Lady Gaga outraged: already old as a pop star at 38?

Lady Gaga at the iHeartRadio Music Awards

(Bild: AP/Chris Pizzello/Invision)

Lady Gaga rails against age discrimination against women in pop music: "I honestly don't know what to make of the fact that at 38 I'm already being recognized for my career."

 Lady Gaga took off her "poker face" when she was honored with the "Innovator Award" at the "iHeartRadio Music Awards" at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. This is awarded to artists who have shaped an era through their musical innovations. While she was "deeply touched" by the honor, the singer used the opportunity to speak out against age discrimination in pop music.

Critical words
Gaga admitted that she often feels as if she has been in the industry "for ages". She then followed up with critical words: "But I've only just started. It's just completely crazy that the world could see a woman in her late 30s as too old to be a pop star." But that won't stop her from continuing to make her music: "I promise you I'm just getting warmed up!"

But I've only just started. It's just completely bonkers that the world could see a woman in her late 30s as too old to be a pop star.

Lady Gaga

Bild: AP/Chris Pizzello

Grandmothers biggest role models
The artist, who was born Stefani Germanotta, revealed that her grandmothers are her biggest role models in life: "They were brilliant American women with Italian roots who shaped their own futures with nothing but their strength, dreams and determination. They didn't invent technology or art, they created new possibilities with nothing but their imaginations."

Lady Gaga dedicated her own definition of innovation to the "greatest women I've ever known": "It has nothing to do with breaking the rules. Innovation is when you make your own rules and convince the world that they've always been there." If there's one thing she's learned in her almost three decades as a musician, it's that "authenticity is the most powerful form of innovation".

She concluded by thanking the LGBTQ+ community for showing her how to demonstrate courage in a world "that is not ready to listen yet". She appealed to all colleagues in the industry to take a leaf out of her book: "If you are told that you stand out too much, are too complicated or that your way is just too much for others - please never change! Break the chains. This world already has enough copies; what it desperately needs are originals!"