Lady Gaga Says Celebrities Are Treated Like "Court Jesters"

Ahead of Five Foot Two, Lady Gaga's Netflix documentary, The L.A. Times' Amy Kaufman spoke with the pop superstar about her chronic pain and life in the public eye.

Gaga recently revealed that she suffers from fibromyalgia. And in the documentary, she discusses the chronic pain she faces because of the condition.

In her profile of the singer, Kaufman writes that Gaga "has little emotional filter" — she's cried at concerts, while she's alone, and because of her pain. Gaga has never been one to hide her earnestness, and that honesty came through when Gaga talked to Kaufman about being famous, too.

"The truth is that there's a fair amount of reality to the fact that some people really relish in the pain of famous people," Gaga told Kaufman. "There's an element of humiliation, like we're just court jesters. And it's very exhausting to live in that when you're already feeling like you have to live up to a standard for others. I guess what I've learned is that everybody's gonna have an opinion, but it's important for me to know that I'm who the [hell] I am. And you can take it or leave it."

Based on Kaufman's reporting, it sounds like that "take it or leave it" attitude extends to the rest of the documentary, too. Apparently, Gaga told Five Foot Two director Chris Moukarbel she wanted the project to have an authentic, year-in-the-life feel — meaning she wanted to forget the cameras were there and not be given off-camera directions. That led to some incredibly honest revelations, including one point when Gaga says that she ends her days alone and in "total silence."

"There's no reason to lie and put a bow on it to make it look pretty in the times when it's not," Gaga told Kaufman. "It's very different living in the public eye all the time. It changes you. It's extremely isolating, and it is even more isolating when the world thinks that you're living the high life."

It's safe to say we can expect many more honest statements like these when the documentary hits Netflix tomorrow.