Celebrity OOPS!
Lady Gaga apologizes to fans for retarded comment via Perez Hilton blog?
[Apr. 22]
Lady Gaga told British music magazine NME that accusations of plagiarism are “retarded.” But almost immediately realizing her celebrity OOPS moment, she apologized for the use of that particular word. Saying the use of the comment goes against what she does to support causes that she associates with, including her outspoken support for the LGBT community, Lady Gaga ate crow with a seriously apologetic game face on. “I consider it part of my life’s work and music to push the boundaries of love and acceptance,” said Gaga in a statement released through celebrity blogger Perez Hilton. Yes, that is right. She used Perez Hilton to help her get the word out to Little Monsters and critics everywhere that Lady Gaga did not mean to make a slur against the special needs community or to demean them. She readily admitted her words were chosen poorly.
The press release statement Lady Gaga issued about having used the word retarded inappropriately was written in such a way that is was very politically correct. She writes:
“To anyone that was hurt, please know that it was furiously unintentional.
Whether life’s disabilities left you outcast, bullied or teased, rejoice and love yourself today.”
TheSocialChallenge.org has demonstrated that when engaged, like Lady Gaga, users of the word “retard” are likely to apologize.
You can visit the site to see live streams of tweets using the word. Consider telling those who are using it to take it back and find a better word to discuss the situation. The way Lady Gaga used it demonstrates just how casual it can be, and how unfair it really is.
Says Holly Roos:
“It’s really unfortunate when someone with as much influence as Lady Gaga uses that word,” said Holly Roos, an advocate for TheSocialChallenge.org, and a mother of two children with Fragile-X syndrome.
“But through The Social Challenge, in just over a month, we’ve actually had hundreds of people tweet back with apologies, pledging not to use the word in the future. It’s a great opportunity to make a difference, and I’m really glad to see that Lady Gaga thought better of her words, too.”
Lady Gaga recently attended an event for the Best Buddies Association in Paris. The Best Buddies Association is a nonprofit group that advocates for people with developmental disabilities. She clearly doesn’t consider the word “retard” lightly, and she admits that she made a mistake in using it, as much as it has become part of an American vernacular.
Lady Gagay, green celebrity that she is, certainly understands that all people deserve rights, and that includes people with developmental disabilities. While she may get some slack for saying something she didn’t really mean, just because the word “retard” has become synonymous with “stupid” in the language, she is fully committed to assisting people with developmental disabilities and will make an effort to choose her words more carefully in the future.
Meanwhile, the TheSocialChallenge.org is doing its best to advocate for persons with developmental disabilities, believing that all people can benefit from humanitarian advocacy.
We at GCN applaud Lady Gaga for recognizing her mistake and for continuing to work with a great many charities to support human rights and causes of all types.