By CLARA BENDAYAN
There are many artists who leave their marks on society, be it in good or bad ways.
From the moment Lady Gaga stepped on the scene, we knew she was going to go down in music history as one of the most outspoken stars we’d seen in a while. Her crazy on-stage performance antics and theatrics and her outpouring of support for LGBT rights amassed her millions of fans that she endearingly calls her “little monsters.”
Recently, an event called South by Southwest took place in Austin, Texas, from March 11-16. It is a set of film, interactive, and music festivals that take place every year.
One would think there was enough drama and buzz at SXSW after a drunken driving incident left several people dead. Then, American rapper, Tyler the Creator allegedly started a riot that turned violent and was arrested during the festivities.
As if these events weren’t enough to put SXSW on the map, Lady Gaga came out and gave a performance that left many people enraged when she allowed a vomiting performance artist throw up on her onstage during her song.
In the middle of her performance, vomiting performance artist, Millie Brown, began to regurgitate a green liquid all over Lady Gaga’s chest and body.
Lady Gaga responded to criticism over her highly controversial performance by declaring it “art in its purest form.”
Many people disagreed. While some were merely disgusted by the vomiting, others took deep offense to what they believed her performance signified and glorified.
Much like the “Cutting For Bieber,” catastrophe that happened a while ago, fans of the artist took to Twitter and other social media sites to post pictures of themselves with their hands in their mouths, resembling the act of vomiting to support their favorite singer.
This led to an angry online petition, and celebs such as Demi Lovato accusing Gaga of “glamorizing eating disorders.”
One of Demi Lovato’s many tweets.
Lovato took to Twitter to express her shock at the incident to her 21.4 million followers.
“Sad …. As if we didn’t have enough people glamorizing eating disorders already. Bottom line, it’s not ‘cool’ or ‘artsy’ at all,” she tweeted. “Would you let someone bring a needle and shoot up on you? Addiction is addiction.”
She then directed a tweet to Lady Gaga herself and said, “you’re SO talented, if not one of the most talented in our industry PERIOD. Dope is INCREDIBLE.. but you don’t have to do that.”
“I guess we weren’t completely surprised,” said Gaga. “[Millie Brown] and I know that not everybody’s going to love that performance…we don’t make things for any intention in particular other than in the spirit of entertaining the crowd and creating something that is really for the moment.”
At the end of the day, some things are just not everyone’s cup of tea. However, I do believe that sometimes artists cross the line. You can love an artist and enjoy their music. But when they make mistakes and blur the lines between acceptable and distasteful, something has to be said.
The power of social media showed through as millions of people took to Twitter especially to vent about the issue. Whether it was Lady Gaga’s “Little Monsters” defending her and bashing Demi Lovato, or Demi Lovato’s “Lovatics,” retaliating, Twitter blew up with mentions of this unforgettable incident.