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Lady Gaga Reveals Lifelong Struggle with Eating Disorder

09/26/2012 at 11:45 AM ET

Lady Gaga
Courtesy: Lady Gaga

After receiving quite a bit of negative attention for her recent weight gain (she put on 25 pounds), Lady Gaga took to her social media website, LittleMonsters.com, to respond — and to reveal a painful secret.

On Tuesday, Gaga posted a photo (left) of herself wearing nothing but a yellow bra and underwear, along with this caption: “Bulimia and anorexia since I was 15.” With the picture, she announced the launch of a new movement, “A Body Revolution 2013,” meant to encourage body acceptance.

The singer added a second shot with her arms stretched in the air saying, “But today I join the BODY REVOLUTION.” Two more photos, in which Gaga shows off her backside, are also included in the post with the captions, “To inspire bravery” and “BREED some m$therf*cking COMPASSION.”

On her site, Gaga explains that the inspiration behind the movement stemmed from the Born This Way Foundation, an organization she started with her mother to stop bullying and embrace individuality. “This profile is an extension of that dream,” she wrote. “Be brave and celebrate with us your ‘perceived flaws,’ as society tells us. May we make our flaws famous, and thus redefine the heinous.”

Unsurprisingly, the Mother Monster’s positive message resonated with her Little Monsters. Soon after the post went up, fans began flooding the website with photos of themselves in their underwear and sharing their own personal struggles with body image issues.

“I have been startled and overwhelmed with pride and emotion the past few days. Gratitude mostly,” Gaga wrote in a letter to her fans, thanking them for their outpouring of support for her cause. “You are proud to be born this way, and brave in your vulnerability with this community. Watching you all create a safe space online for people to be compassionate is the greatest gift you could ever give me.” Tell us: What do you think of Gaga’s Body Revolution? Do you think that this was the right way to respond to the haters?

–Jennifer Cress

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Showing 344 comments

Erin on September 26th, 2012

She looks great!

Tina on September 26th, 2012

Go Go Go away, Gaga.

Amaryllis on September 26th, 2012

I really know nothing about Lady Gaga, but if she was 25 pounds thinner than she is now she was a cadaver. She looks like a normal weight woman to me in that picture. Hope she continues to recover from her eating disorders.

Cam on September 26th, 2012

i think we need to remember that this body type, to someone who has it, may feel HUGE to them-even though it is not the “normal huge” to a population of people. everyone is different.

there is a lot of discussion about body-dysmorphic disorder- when you view your own body in a much different light than the condition it is actually in, and it becomes such a burden on your brain, that you can become bulimic and anorexic from the disorder. she stated that she has experienced this since she was 16.
in other words, i think it may be harsh to taunt and say, “phssst! she doesn’t know what she’s talking about, she doesn’t know what fat its!”

in regards to doing it for fame, to show off her body, WELL: when you are already famous, no matter what you put on the internet, of COURSE it is going to make you more well known- in infamy, or in a positive light.
i think it would be hard to argue over the fact that she did this to promote something positive. the only thing that concerns me is the fact that OTHER people may post lude pictures, and a younger person, a child, a young teen might see it, and not be able to interpret it in the way it was meant to be seen.
that is the nature of art however.

… but, i can agree that she by no means looks overweight.

Rachel on September 26th, 2012

She looks fine! She was too skinny before…

Ali on September 26th, 2012

I’m confused….She looks great!

Cam on September 26th, 2012

p.s. SHAME ON THE MEDIA! she is NOT FAT. she has gained some weight, whatever. it must suck, like, just think, if facebook took over the lives of “regular folks” and we gained weight, we could be front page news! :o

Stacey on September 26th, 2012

I agree with Leslie. She must feel less important when she’s not in the spotlight and just a little picture is enough to send the media in to a frenzy and give her what she wants.

Lailonna on September 26th, 2012

you call that a 25 lbs weight gain .. OMG! Wouldn’t want to know what she is like if she was to gain more! Good on you People to give more attention to something that really shouldn’t be news!

Vega on September 26th, 2012

In other recent pictures, she looks 20 lbs heavier than she does in this one. Here, she looks like she did BEFORE the weight gain. If she is supposed to be tauting body accpentance then she should post a realistic picture! Not one that is shot angled down to be as flattering as possible – what hypocrisy and only feeds in to more insecurities among teenage girls.

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