From speaking out about the abortion ban in Alabama to putting Piers Morgan in his place when he attacked her for opening up about her post traumatic stress disorder, Lady Gaga has never been afraid to speak up.

And now a video has been unearthed that shows that the award-winning singer and actor has been confidently calling out bad behaviour for more than a decade.

The viral clip from 2009, tweeted by a Lady Gaga fan account, shows the A Star is Born actor rocking one of the statement wigs that became such a huge part of her image during her early career. In the video Gaga speaks calmly, eloquently and ruthlessly in response to an interviewer’s sexist question. 

The interviewer begins by asking Gaga whether she’s scared that the “sexual references will undermine your music”. She tells him she’s not scared then turns the tables on him, asking whether he’s scared. The interviewer continues, asking whether she’s at all “worried that people will just check out the sexual references and not care about the music”. 

Gaga’s answer is succinct: “No.” She then goes on to remind the interviewer that by this point, just over a year into her career, she already has “three number one records” and sold “almost 4 million albums worldwide”. 

The interviewer, perhaps sensing Gaga is not happy with his line of questioning, tries to change the subject, asking her what the biggest thrill of her career is. She cites the gay community and then, unwilling to let the interviewer off the hook that easily, explains: “Because I love them so much, because they don’t ask me questions like that. Because they love sexual, strong women who speak their mind.”

Keeping her tone calm and measured, she continues: “You see, if I was a guy, and I was sitting here with a cigarette in my hand grabbing my crotch and talking about how I make music because I love fast cars and fucking girls, you’d call me a rock star. But when I do it in my music and in my videos, because I’m a female, because I make pop, you’re judgemental and you say that it is distracting. I’m just a rock star.”

And she’s right. It’s important to remember that sex is a huge topic in a lot of music, and male artists have been cashing in on that unquestioned for eons. Lady Gaga, who has gone on to huge success, called it like she saw it, and we’re confident that her actions made the interviewer think twice before asking a question like that again of a female artist.

Image: Getty