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Lady Gaga defends Dylan Mulvaney from transphobes: 'This is not backlash. This is hatred'

Lady Gaga Dylan Mulvaney
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If you thought Lady Gaga would let transphobia slide, we'd like to visit the rock you've been living under for the past 15 years.

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Lady Gaga finds the transphobic hatred directed at Dylan Mulvaney "appalling."

After the musician collaborated with the transgender influencer for an International Women's Day post, the two were met with a barrage of ugly comments over the weekend. In a heartfelt statement Monday, Gaga condemned the "vitriol and hatred" in her replies, while also calling out how the media reported on it.

“When I see a newspaper reporting on hatred but calling it ‘backlash,’ I feel it is important to clarify that hatred is hatred, and this kind of hatred is violence," she wrote on Instagram. "‘Backlash’ would imply that people who love or respect Dylan and me didn’t like something we did. This is not backlash. This is hatred.”

Gaga continued to say that the response was unfortunately "not surprising," and that it’s "obvious we still have to do as a society to make room for transgender lives to be cherished and upheld by all of us."

"I feel very protective in this moment, not only of Dylan, but of the trans community who continues to lead the way with their endless grace and inspiration in the face of constant degradation, intolerance, and physical, verbal, and mental violence," she added.

Mulvaney has been subject to unrelenting transphobic attacks since her brief partnership with Bud Light last year, which sparked a conservative boycott of the beer. The influencer is still a frequent target for trolls online and even right-wing figures like Matt Walsh.

Gaga ended her post by reminding both her fans and the brigadiers that International Women's Day is for all women, and that she hopes "all women will come together to honor us ALL for International Women’s Day, and may we do that always until THE DAY that all women are celebrated equally."

She concluded: "I love people too much to allow hatred to be referred to as 'backlash.' People deserve better."

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Ryan Adamczeski

Ryan is a reporter at The Advocate, and a graduate of New York University Tisch's Department of Dramatic Writing, with a focus in television writing and comedy. She first became a published author at the age of 15 with her YA novel "Someone Else's Stars," and is now a member of GALECA, the LGBTQ+ society of entertainment critics, and the IRE, the society of Investigative Reporters and Editors. In her free time, Ryan likes watching New York Rangers hockey, listening to the Beach Boys, and practicing witchcraft.
Ryan is a reporter at The Advocate, and a graduate of New York University Tisch's Department of Dramatic Writing, with a focus in television writing and comedy. She first became a published author at the age of 15 with her YA novel "Someone Else's Stars," and is now a member of GALECA, the LGBTQ+ society of entertainment critics, and the IRE, the society of Investigative Reporters and Editors. In her free time, Ryan likes watching New York Rangers hockey, listening to the Beach Boys, and practicing witchcraft.