'You were so good. So vulnerable, so truthful, so real'
Lady Gaga moved legendary chat show host Oprah Winfrey to tears after bravely opening up about her mental health battles and revealing she developed post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after being ‘repeatedly raped’ as a teenager.
The singer sat down with Oprah on Saturday for the launch night of Oprah’s 2020 Vision: Your Life In Focus wellness tour, where the pair embarked on an hour-long discussion.
Speaking on-stage in Florida, Gaga - real name Stefani Germanotta - explained, ‘I was raped repeatedly when I was 19 years old, and I also developed PTSD as a result of being raped and also not processing that trauma.’
Gaga, 33, said the attacks were carried out by someone she knew from her childhood. Explaining the aftermath, she expanded: ‘I all of a sudden became a star and was travelling 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.’
In the video clip, Oprah, 65, asks - 'where's Gaga?' as she looks for her backstage following their interview. She breaks down when she sees her, saying, 'You were so good. So vulnerable, so truthful, so real - I couldn't even believe you were doing that.'
She tearfully added, 'Thank you for doing that for me...I was so moved, by all of it.'
An emotional Gaga replied, 'Thank you so much for being a part of healing me and my life. This is a part of me ending my shame stories that pop up.'
The full interview airs on the WW Now Instagram IGTV on Wednesday, January 8