When you think Lady Gaga, does “evangelist” come to mind?
The Grammy Award-winning singer may very well fancy herself somewhat of a Christian performer, as her new tune “Judas” is told from Mary Magdalene’s perspective.
The song, which has racked up more than 4 million YouTube hits, has angered The Catholic League and many others for including lyrics such as, “When he comes to me, I am ready/ I’ll wash his feet with my hair if he needs/ Forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain/ Even after three times, he betrays me/ I’ll bring him down, a king with no crown…”
In the “Judas” music video, Lady Gaga is set to portray Mary Magdalene, causing some to wonder if she’s provoking the religious population or just sacrilegious.
But Catholic League President Bill Donohue says he won’t be fooled by Gaga’s “stunt”.
“People have real talent, and then there is Lady GaGa. I find GaGa to be increasingly irrelevant,” Donohue said in a statement. “This is a stunt… Lady Gaga tries to continue to shock Catholics and Christians in general: she dresses as a nun… she swallows the rosary. She has now morphed into a caricature of herself.”
Donohue says Lady Gaga’s song release timing is no coincidence.
“Is this the only way to jet up her performance? This isn’t random, we are getting closer to Holy Week and Easter,” Donohue said.
Lady Gaga’s creative director, Laurieann Gibson told The Hollywood Reporter that she and the artist had no intention of offending others.
“It went through several changes and late-night debates because at one point, there were two completely different views and I was like, ‘Listen, I don’t want lightning to strike me! I believe in the gospel and I’m not going there,'” Gibson told THR. “And it was amazing because to have that conversation about salvation, peace and the search for the truth in a room of non-believers and believers, to me, that was saying God is active in a big way. And the place that it came to is surreal. We don’t touch on things that we have no right touching upon, but the inspiration and the soul and idea that out of your oppression, your darkness, your Judas, you can come into the marvelous light. So it’s about the inspiration and to never give up… We’ve created a new Jerusalem.”
The “Just Dance” performer, who is known for having an odd outfit selection and craving attention, has sung about religion before. Lady Gaga’s hit “Born This Way,” which debuted earlier this year, touches on spirituality and the Almighty. The lyrics read, “I’m beautiful in my way ’cause God makes no mistakes, I’m on the right track, baby I was born this way” and repeatedly refer to “capital H-I-M.”
[LISTEN: Lady Gaga’s “Judas”]