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The 9 O'Clock News - Lady Gaga: “I had to beat bulimia to save my voice”

Posted by 10 February 2012 08:54

Lady Gaga: “I had to beat bulimia to save my voice”

Lady Gaga has revealed that she battled bulimia to save her singing voice. Lady G admitted at a Young’s Women’s Conference hosted by Maria Shriver (Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s ex-wife) that she ‘purged’ so often that her stomach acid began eating away at her throat.

She said: "It's easier for me to talk about it now because I don't do it anymore. I used to throw up all the time in high school. Bulimia made my voice bad so I had to stop. The acid on your vocal cords — it's very bad.

"But for those of you who don't sing, you maybe don't have that excuse until it's too late. It's very dangerous."

"I wanted to be a skinny little ballerina but I was a voluptuous little Italian girl whose dad had meatballs on the table every night. I used to come home and say, 'Dad, why do you always give us this food? I need to be thin'. And he'd say, 'Eat your spaghetti'."

Lady Gaga also gave some advice to the young women at the conference, "I'm gonna say this about girls. The dieting wars have got to stop. Everyone just knock it off! Because at the end of the day, it's affecting kids your age. And it's making girls sick."

Average rating: 3 stars (6 votes)

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22 Comments

  • LittleMonster94

    17 February 2012 18:53

    I forgot to say - apology totally accepted x

    LittleMonster94

  • LittleMonster94

    16 February 2012 23:24

    Is that the bit where her spine pokes out? I don't know, it's quite surreal - it looks as if she has a large spine as opposed to a tiny body if that makes sense. She seems pretty honest to me but idk all you can do is choose to believe or not believe her but if her message reaches her fans then tbh I don't really care.

    LittleMonster94

  • barefoot

    16 February 2012 22:19

    I really don't think it's something you can beat, like an alcoholic, you're always in recovery unfortunately. I'd like to apologise to you as well, I can get very emotional about this subject and probably more than a bit overly aggressive and I'm sorry for making you feel like you had to justify your struggle. I have seen one or two people on the road to recovery, but mostly I work with women/ young girls who are almost always to far gone to recover. As I said below, there is some debate as to whether bulimia is a mental illness and I'm of the opinion that it is. I honestly don't believe Gaga when she says she was bulimic, if she was, then why in one of her videos (Bad Romance) would she agree to retouching so that she looked skeletal? I just don't think that's something anyone with bulimia would ever do.

    barefoot

  • LittleMonster94

    16 February 2012 14:21

    I became bulimic when I was extremely young because I was self-destructive and around a group of people who made me believe that self-destruction ws the only way to combat inner-turmoil. I drew back before the problem became truly serious of life-threatening. For me it was like beating a serious addiction. You're totally right in saying that in comparison to a 17 year struggle it's like a common cold but I was very ill for that length of time. Like you say it's a daily win or lose battle and if you win most days I'd say you are a winner. I know it's difficult but I think it's possible - I do know people who became seriously ill because of eating disorders who have recovered. In 10 years you must have seen some happy endings?

    LittleMonster94

  • barefoot

    15 February 2012 22:31

    Really? So because I don't post personal issues I have no idea? You're an idiot. I have for the past 10 years been working with people fighting bulimia, my struggle has been 17 years. Do not presume to tell me that I have no idea what I'm talking about.

    barefoot

  • LittleMonster94

    14 February 2012 13:00

    You have no right to tell someone how much thay've suffered. There are many cases more serious than mine all I'm saying is that it's possible to beat it. You just have no idea what you're talking about :)

    LittleMonster94

  • barefoot

    13 February 2012 21:03

    @ Saetana, I think you'll find there is a huge debate as to whether eating disorders are a mental illness. Are you saying mental illness can be cured? Please don't be so ignorant.

    barefoot

  • barefoot

    13 February 2012 21:01

    A whole year??? Wow your experience is extensive! Unfortunately I'd have to say it's actually far more serious than an year long illness.

    barefoot

  • LittleMonster94

    12 February 2012 12:04

    I have first hand experience actually @barefoot . I was bulimic for a year and now I barely think about that time in my life.

    LittleMonster94

  • Saetana

    11 February 2012 13:28

    Well, now we know the vomiting scenes from Marry the Night are straight out of her own experience. Her weight fluctuates, just like most women, and I've never met a woman yet who truly loves her own body. I thought she was getting too thin around the time of the Telephone video but she has put a bit of weight on since then. @barefoot - and where is your proof that bulimia can't be cured? Eating disorders CAN be cured, its not easy but it can be done, its the poor body image that needs to be addressed.

    Saetana

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