Lady Gaga has found herself in hot water. On Thursday, May 23, the singer was attending the premiere of her new HBO concert special, Gaga Chromatica Ball, when she revealed an interesting detail about her 2022 world tour. While reflecting on her postponed shows after the pandemic, Lady Gaga admitted she performed five of her Chromatica Ball concerts while being sick with COVID. Since it was a risky move, some fans are calling out the popstar for seemingly not taking her diagnosis seriously enough.
Lady Gaga COVID Announcement Draws Backlash
Lady Gaga’s Chromatica Ball was initially set to kick off in 2020 following the release of her Chromatica album. However, her shows were pushed back to 2022 because of the pandemic. Due to the delay, the singer turned the limited run into a full-out stadium tour. The trek consisted of 20 dates with performances across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Since fans waited so long to see Lady Gaga, the star said she decided against canceling any of her concerts after contracting COVID. Although she didn’t publicly disclose her diagnosis at the time, she did immediately inform her crew.
I shared it with everyone on my team. I said, ‘I don’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable at work and you don’t have to perform and you don’t have to work that day, but I’m going to do the show’ because I just didn’t want to let all the fans down. The way that I saw it also is like the fans are all putting themselves in harm’s way every day coming to the show.
Lady Gaga
After hearing her story, some praised her for pushing through her sickness.
However, others said she should have prioritized everyone’s health and safety and just postponed her Chromatica Ball tour again.
The Chromatica Ball tour began in Düsseldorf, Germany, in July 2022. After performing all around the world that summer, Lady Gaga concluded her concerts in Miami in September. The three-month-long trek was so successful that it’s said to have grossed over $112 million.
Now, two years later, the tour is the focus of Lady Gaga’s latest concert special, Gaga Chromatica Ball. The film will premiere on HBO on Saturday, May 25.
