Lady Gaga received intense backlash after appearing in an International Women's Day Instagram post with trans activist and TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
On Friday, Mulvaney shared a series of pictures along with one video of the TikTok influencer and Gaga with a caption reading, "Happy International Women's Day."
“I’m putting you on my vision board, for life,” Gaga says in the video before hugging Mulvaney. “Put this on your vision board."
The post's comments overflowed with critics noting Mulvaney was a biological male, along with others taking issue with what appeared to be Gaga's promotion of Mulvaney.
The photo shoot appeared to be at an event with Gaga's cosmetic brand, Haus Labs, along with pharmaceutical company Clinuvel, per The Daily Mail.
Following backlash, Gaga shared the same photo in her own Instagram post that included a response to critics.
"It’s appalling to me that a post about National Women’s Day by Dylan Mulvaney and me would be met with such vitriol and hatred," Gaga wrote. "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. '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," she added.
Gaga's post continued:It is not surprising given the immense work 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. I certainly do not speak for this community, but I have something to say. I hope 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. That all people are celebrated equally. A day where people of all gender identities are celebrated on whichever holiday speaks to them.
The performer said people of "all gender identities" and races deserved peace and dignity.
"May we all come together and be loving, accepting, warm, welcoming," she continued. "May we all stand and honor the complexity and challenge of trans life—that we do not know, but can seek to understand and have compassion for. I love people too much to allow hatred to be referred to as 'backlash.'"
"People deserve better," Gaga concluded.
In a 2017 interview with Out Magazine, Gaga cited the gay community as her main supporters early in her performance career.
“When I started in the mainstream it was the gays that lifted me up," Gaga said. "I committed myself to them and they committed themselves to me, and because of the gay community I’m where I am today.”
“I very much want to inject gay culture into the mainstream,” she continued. “It’s not an underground tool for me. It’s my whole life. So I always sort of joke the real motivation is to just turn the world gay.”
