We recently posted a couple of items regarding Lady Gaga’s recent announcements about her health, namely that she is suffering from fibromyalgia and has been given that diagnosis. We also reviewed her Netflix special with particular attention paid to the scenes in which she shows herself in pain. Some have even referred to it as the Lady Gaga Fibromyalgia show.
Because Lady Gaga is very famous–she’s arguably now the world’s most famous celebrity who has gone public with her fibromyalgia diagnosis–these articles understandably generate lots of interest. In fact, the three articles we’ve published have been the most-viewed in the history of the site. There’s no denying that people are interested in Lady Gaga, and people want to read about her illness. There’s no getting around it.
The topic is not without controversy, however. One of the most interesting topics of conversation around these articles is whether or not Lady Gaga really has fibromyalgia, or maybe it’s just generic chronic pain. It’s certainly confusing because, in the documentary, there’s a scene which in which she has what many people with fibro recognize as a flare-up, but the word “fibromyalgia” does not appear in the film. Lady Gaga herself seems keen to clear this confusion up, as she recently tweeted that the pain shown in the move is indeed fibromyalgia.
In our documentary the #chronicillness #chronicpain I deal w/ is #Fibromyalgia I wish to help raise awareness & connect people who have it.
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) September 12, 2017
So I guess the question is, does it matter? It certainly matters to a lot of people. Fibromyalgia is a notoriously invisible illness, and people who have fibromyalgia have to suffer not only the pain and fatigue and confusion and all that comes with the disease but also the doubt and stigma from those who don’t understand. So in that sense, having a celebrity who is this visible come out with her diagnosis is helpful.
What do you think? Does it matter? Is it good for celebrities to be open about their health issues? Let us know in the comments.
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