Before being Lady Gaga, the iconic boundary-pushing musician many people idealize, the singer was just Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, an NYU college student.
As a result of her leading a rather normal life in the 2000s and interacting with other regular people, a fellow NYU student has taken it upon herself to share her own experience attending the college at the same time the Grammy-award-winning artist did.
Highlights
- Lady Gaga's ex-classmate, Carly Waddell, shared that Gaga 'drove her crazy' by playing the piano during lunch at NYU.
- 'NYU students trying to eat their lunch' memes went viral, humorously depicting Gaga's lunchtime performances.
- A Facebook group once existed named 'Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous,' mocking young Lady Gaga's aspirations.
- Kristin Chenoweth expressed interest in singing 'For Good' from Wicked with Lady Gaga, referencing Gaga's NYU performances.
- Lady Gaga's history of bullying includes incidents from high school where peers made fun of her appearance and threw her in a trash can.
Carly Waddell, who attended NYU with Lady Gaga, went viral for saying that the singer would "drive her crazy" with her lunchtime performances
Image credits: carlywad
On the Trading Secrets with Jason Tartick podcast, details about Lady Gaga's academic days were shared by former Bachelor contestant Carly Waddell.
She recalled: "I was not a fan.
"Stefani used to play the piano during lunch, and she would sit at the piano every single day and just play and sing Wicked at the top of her lungs every day.
“And we were all just trying to eat lunch.
"It was break time, and we were all forced to listen to her. And yes, was she good? Of course!
“She was great, but I just wanted to eat my sandwich. And so I used to eat in the hallway because she was driving me crazy.”
Lady Gaga attended NYU in the mid 2000s
Image credits: ladygaga
Carly’s simple wish “wanting to eat a sandwich while Lady Gaga belted on a piano” has now become a viral sensation, spawning the creation of the "NYU students attempting to eat their sandwiches at lunch" memes.
Of course, people came up with the most hilarious memes
This isn’t the first time Lady Gaga has provoked social media banter.
According to internet legends, a Facebook group was allegedly created by some of Lady Gaga's former classmates who doubted her potential for fame.
Image credits: AmenJack
A couple of years ago, people started finding out about the secret little community and immediately fell in love with the irony of it.
Lauren Bohn, who was a freshman at NYC when she spotted the group, brought it to the media’s attention in 2016 with a powerful Facebook post: “I remember coming across a Facebook group that broke my heart. Its name: 'Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous.'"
Lauren went on to explain that the page housed pictures of “a pretty Norah Jones-esque young 18-year-old NYU student who sang and played piano at local bars”.
The singer was a victim of bullying during her youth, and someone even created a group titled "Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous"
Image credits: Eric Alper
However, the group was “peppered with comments, sharp as porcupine needles, vilifying the aspiring musician for being an 'attention-wh*re'."
Lauren admitted: “I couldn't shake the raw feeling of filth while scrolling down that Facebook page, but I pretty much — and quickly — forgot about that group and that girl with the intense raven eyes.”
"She was great, but I just wanted to eat my sandwich," the former student said
Image credits: Trading Secrets with Jason Tartick
Lady Gaga’s college experience wasn’t the first time she experienced severe bullying.
Her parents enrolled her at Convent of Sacred Heart, an Upper East Side Catholic private school, where she got her first taste of how cruel kids could be. From then on it didn’t stop.
She continued: “I used to self-tan, and I had this really intense tan in school, and people would say, ‘Why the fuck are you so orange, why do you do your hair that way, are you a dyke? Why do you have to look like that for school?’
“I used to be called a sl*t, be called this, be called that. I didn’t even want to go to school sometimes.”
You can watch the full podcast episode below
In MTV’s 2011 documentary Lady Gaga: Inside The Outside, the songstress revealed: "I remember once, some of the girls in my class were hanging out with some boys that I knew... The boys picked me up and threw me in the trash can - on the street, on the corner of my block where all the other girls could see me in the trash.
"Everyone was laughing, even I was laughing with that nervous giggle.
“I remember holding back the tears, my lip was quivering.
“I was like, 'Don't let them see you cry'. I felt as if I was pathetic.
"I didn't even tell my parents - that was too embarrassing.”
Upon learning about Carly’s interview, Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the role of Glinda in Broadway’s Wicked, said she'd happily duet with Lady Gaga on tunes from the show.
Taking to her X page (formerly known as Twitter), Kristin wrote: "I'm ready to sing FOR GOOD with our girl Gaga,” referencing the iconic tune she performed on stage with fellow Wicked cast member Idina Menzel.
Some fans thought Carly's remarks stemmed from jealousy
