Lady Gaga Reveals PTSD Diagnosis After Being ‘Raped Repeatedly’ at Age 19
During an interview with Oprah Winfrey on Saturday (Jan. 4), Lady Gaga spoke about being diagnosed with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) after being raped at the age of 19.
Winfrey kicked off her 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus Tour in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with an hour-long discussion with the "Born This Way" singer.
The 33-year-old performer revealed that as a teenager, she was raped numerous times. "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 told Winfrey.
Gaga began her music career in 2005, around the same age when the assaults took place. By 2007 she had officially debuted as a solo artist and soon became one of pop's biggest superstars.
"I all of a sudden became a star and was traveling 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," she shared with Winfrey.
After opening up about her personal struggles with mental health, Gaga advocated for mental health education in schools and to lose the stigma around medication.
Watch the interview in full, below.