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Lady Gaga's meat dress angers animal rights groups
http://www.guardian.co.uk
Campaigners kick up a stink after Lady Gaga attends MTV Video Music Awards in an outfit made of raw meat
There have been dresses adorned with Kermit the Frog, an outfit of transparent plastic bubbles, and a nude leotard teamed with tweed jacket and NHS specs – but when Lady Gaga took to the stage to accept an award at last night's MTV Video Music Awards in hat, dress and boots apparently made of various cuts of raw meat, it was a touch outré, even for the queen of extreme.
The singer's decision was fiercely criticised by animal rights campaigners. Ingrid Newkirk, the Peta founder, said the outfit – which is thought to have been real meat, although that has not been confirmed – could have a detrimental effect on the artist's record sales.
"In her line of business, Lady Gaga has a hard time being 'over the top', and wearing a dress made from cuts of dead cows is offensive enough to elicit comment, but someone should whisper in her ear that more people are upset by butchery than are impressed by it – and that means a lot of young people will not be buying her records if she keeps it up," she said.
Newkirk speculated that Gaga would have been surrounded by a distinctive perfume. "Meat is the decomposing flesh of an abused animal who didn't want to die, and after being under the TV lights, it would smell like the rotting flesh that it is and likely be crawling with maggots – not too attractive, really," she said.
Perhaps the most damaging criticism that could have been levelled at the provocative artist was the accusation that she is running out of ideas. It is not the first time Gaga has displayed a penchant for meaty attire, having recently posed in a "beef bikini" for the cover of Japan's Men's Vogue magazine.
The dress – cut asymetrically and with a cowl neck, for those with a sartorial bent – drew gasps from the crowds at the VMAs, where the singer claimed half of the available prizes. She won in eight categories, seven for her single Bad Romance. She also took home an award for best collaboration, for her record-breaking duet Telephone, featuring Beyoncé.
An emotional Gaga thanked her "little monsters" and the "gays" who remade the Bad Romance video, which has been watched nearly 278m times on YouTube and Vevo. She also highlighted her commitment to the Servicemembers Legal Defence Network, which campaigns on behalf of servicemen and women affected by the "don't ask, don't tell" policy passed by Congress in 1993, which the SLDN describes as "a law mandating the discharge of openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual service members."
She later confirmed that her new album would be called Born This Way, saying: "The message, the melodies, the direction, the meaning, what it will mean to my fans and what it will mean to me in my own life – it's utter liberation."
Referring to her outfit – and wearing her best poker face – Lady Gaga joked: "I never thought I'd be asking Cher to hold my meat purse."
uke: :doh:
http://www.guardian.co.uk
Campaigners kick up a stink after Lady Gaga attends MTV Video Music Awards in an outfit made of raw meat
There have been dresses adorned with Kermit the Frog, an outfit of transparent plastic bubbles, and a nude leotard teamed with tweed jacket and NHS specs – but when Lady Gaga took to the stage to accept an award at last night's MTV Video Music Awards in hat, dress and boots apparently made of various cuts of raw meat, it was a touch outré, even for the queen of extreme.
The singer's decision was fiercely criticised by animal rights campaigners. Ingrid Newkirk, the Peta founder, said the outfit – which is thought to have been real meat, although that has not been confirmed – could have a detrimental effect on the artist's record sales.
"In her line of business, Lady Gaga has a hard time being 'over the top', and wearing a dress made from cuts of dead cows is offensive enough to elicit comment, but someone should whisper in her ear that more people are upset by butchery than are impressed by it – and that means a lot of young people will not be buying her records if she keeps it up," she said.
Newkirk speculated that Gaga would have been surrounded by a distinctive perfume. "Meat is the decomposing flesh of an abused animal who didn't want to die, and after being under the TV lights, it would smell like the rotting flesh that it is and likely be crawling with maggots – not too attractive, really," she said.
Perhaps the most damaging criticism that could have been levelled at the provocative artist was the accusation that she is running out of ideas. It is not the first time Gaga has displayed a penchant for meaty attire, having recently posed in a "beef bikini" for the cover of Japan's Men's Vogue magazine.
The dress – cut asymetrically and with a cowl neck, for those with a sartorial bent – drew gasps from the crowds at the VMAs, where the singer claimed half of the available prizes. She won in eight categories, seven for her single Bad Romance. She also took home an award for best collaboration, for her record-breaking duet Telephone, featuring Beyoncé.
An emotional Gaga thanked her "little monsters" and the "gays" who remade the Bad Romance video, which has been watched nearly 278m times on YouTube and Vevo. She also highlighted her commitment to the Servicemembers Legal Defence Network, which campaigns on behalf of servicemen and women affected by the "don't ask, don't tell" policy passed by Congress in 1993, which the SLDN describes as "a law mandating the discharge of openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual service members."
She later confirmed that her new album would be called Born This Way, saying: "The message, the melodies, the direction, the meaning, what it will mean to my fans and what it will mean to me in my own life – it's utter liberation."
Referring to her outfit – and wearing her best poker face – Lady Gaga joked: "I never thought I'd be asking Cher to hold my meat purse."
uke: :doh:
