In a shocking ‘W Magazine’ spread, Lady Gaga cuts her face off with scissors

Talk about a 180-degree turn. By slashing off her face for a new magazine spread, Lady Gaga reminded everyone that there’s still a crazy artist behind that Academy Award-nominated actress.

Isn’t it great to have Lady Gaga back in action? With her star-making roles in House of Gucci and A Star Is Born, Gaga (born Stefani Germanotta, 35) has become a mainstream musician, but the «Stupid Love» singer still retains a bit of the artist mayhem she brought when she first came onto the scene.

W Magazine’s inaugural issue of 2022 was brimming with colour. Tilda Swinton, Denzel Washington, Cate Blanchett, Gemma Chan, Jessica Chastain, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adam Driver, and Lady Gaga – who determined she deserved «final cut» on her photo spread – were among the luminaries in the «Best Performances» portfolio.

Tim Walker

Tim Walker

While Gaga wore a beautiful black gown with a red flower on her chest on the cover of the photo, the «911» singer was shrouded in red cloth on the inside. In one of the photographs, Gaga is shown holding a pair of scissors in one hand and her own face in the other. The image has been edited to make it appear as if she has chopped off her own face, a move that enraged Gaga’s Little Monsters when she published it on Instagram. «ARTPOP VIBES,» says the narrator.

Along with the photos, Gaga discussed her work on House of Gucci, a biopic about Patrizia Reggiani and Maurizio Gucci’s tempestuous and deadly romance. «Dying my own hair brown was the most significant part of becoming Patrizia.» «I couldn’t be blonde with an Italian accent because I was still me,» Gaga explained. «It was also crucial for me that the film not be shown on the red carpet.» Patrizia’s life depended on her ability to stay fashionable; she did her hardest, but she was never as gleaming as the Guccis.»

Gaga also talked about the moment she discovered who she was playing. «I was on the balcony of my apartment in Rome on the last day of filming, blasting Dean Martin singing ‘Mambo Italiano,’ and I had a cigarette hanging out of my lips,» she told W Magazine. «My name was Patrizia.» But I knew I had to say goodbye to her because large swarms of flies kept following me around, and I began to assume she was the one who had dispatched them. I was ready to give up on her.»

The inaugural issue of 2022, Volume 1, Best Performances, will hit newsstands on February 8, 2022, and will be available online on Tuesday, January 11th.

Cate Blanchett, Gemma Chan, Jessica Chastain, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adam Driver, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Hudson, Kristen Stewart, Tilda Swinton and Honor Swinton Byrne, and Denzel Washington appear on 10 different covers shot by Tim Walker and styled by Sara Moonves, W Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief.