Did Lady Gaga Indirectly Respond to Madonna’s ‘Born This Way’ Diss Onstage

At the Born This Way Ball tour date in New Zealand, Lady Gaga delivered a lengthy monologue while seated on her motorcycle piano before launching into her “love yourself” anthem ‘Hair.’ The speech felt like an indirect response to Madonna‘s sorta shady mashup of ‘Express Yourself’ with ‘Born This Way’ and ‘She’s Not Me.’
Gaga stated, “There is a level of resilience within this room, something that you’ve done to the universe. Everyone tried, everyone tried all year and everyone is still trying, but you could never invalidate the power of ‘Born This Way,’” she added. “It’s about respect. It’s about loving who you are.”
It’s not overt, but it certainly feels like the Mother Monster’s way of commenting, without getting too nasty or going the mud-slinging route. It was classy, too. Rather than make a rude comment, she elevates the power of ‘Born This Way’ as a concept.
Gaga continued, “Anything shallow or insubstantial or anything that is vain or ego-driven means nothing to me. All that matters to me is seeing you f—ing smile. I love you with all my heart,” she gushed. “I wanted you to know how f—ing powerful you are. You are powerful. Nothing can stop you.”
She also went on about her role in the cultural and musical world, which also felt like a comment on Madonna’s treatment of her and about their places in the pop music food chain. “I wasn’t here to make pop music better,” Gaga exclaimed. “I was put here to ruin it, burst its bubble, turn it inside out, explode it and vomit it all over the world.” Spoken like only Gaga could.
Gaga finished, “With this last record, I thought, ‘Now that I have all this fame and fortune, let me do something that means something.’ I wrote this song. This is for you. Anyone who doesn’t fit in or feels they are trying to be destroyed by the greatest forces on earth. Nothing can destroy you. You are free as your hair.”
Is Madonna one of the greatest forces on earth, trying to destroy Gaga, the little monsters and the very notion of ‘Born This Way?’ It’s not like we’re making a leap here. (And we just had an image of Madonna-as-Godzilla, trying to stomp all over the castle of the Born This Way Ball tour stage.)
When you look at Madonna’s trying-too-hard mashup and Gaga’s words here, Madge looks silly, cheesy and catty, whereas Gaga looks like a pro and a true crusader,using pop music as a tool and instrument of change.