• Lady Gaga is opening up about the early career rumor that she was a man on Netflix's What's Next with Bill Gates

• The star revealed why she never cared to publicly shut down the claims

• "The reason I didn’t answer the question was because I didn’t feel like a victim with that lie," said Gaga

No, Lady Gaga isn't a man — but that shouldn't matter.

The Grammy-winning pop superstar, 38, opened up on Netflix's What's Next? The Future with Bill Gates about the early career rumor that she was a man and why she chose to never publicly shut down the claims.

"When I was in my early 20s, there was a rumor that I was a man," said Gaga on the series. "And I went all over the world. I traveled for tours and for promoting my records and almost every interview I sat in — there was this imagery on the internet that had been doctored — they were like, ‘There’s rumors that you’re a man. What do you have to say about that?’"

The "Die with a Smile" singer continued, "The reason I didn’t answer the question was because I didn’t feel like a victim with that lie. But I thought about what about a kid that’s being accused of that that would think that a public figure like me would feel shame."

A longtime ally to the LGBTQIA+ community, Gaga wasn't trying to claim anyone else's identity, but she also didn't want to spread any rhetoric that would negatively impact others.

"What I’m saying is I’ve been in situations where fixing a rumor was not in the best interest of the well-being of other people, so in that case I tried to be thought-provoking and disruptive in another way," said the Joker: Folie à Deux star. "I tried to use the misinformation to create another disruptive point."

Christopher Polk/Getty Lady Gaga performs at the MTV VMAs in New York City in September 2009

Gaga added, "People I think assume that someone like me that performs, that my performance is what’s not real. But, to me, that’s the most real thing that you’ll see about me. That is so much more real than all of the rumors that are designed to orbit me to gain more clicks."

The rumor followed the New York native for the first few years that followed her 2008-2009 breakthrough with her debut album, The Fame, and hits including "Poker Face," "Just Dance," "LoveGame" and "Paparazzi."

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic Lady Gaga at the MTV VMAs in New York City in September 2010

During a 2009 ABC News interview with Barbara Walters, Gaga said she didn't "really" mind the rumor. "At first, it was very strange, and everyone sorta said, ‘That’s really quite a story.’ But in a sense, I portray myself in a very androgynous way, and I love androgyny," she told the reporter.

Two years later, she made similar comments during a 2011 chat with Anderson Cooper, who asked specifically about if she had a penis. "Maybe I do," she said at the time. "Would it be so terrible?"

"Why the hell am I gonna waste my time and give a press release about whether or not I have a penis? My fans don't care, and neither do I," added Gaga.

Virisa Yong/BFA.com/Shutterstock

Lady Gaga in Los Angeles in May 2024

The "Shallow" singer has been getting reflective as of late. Last week, she reminisced on the more difficult moments of her time studying at New York University and commented on a fan's TikTok looking back on a Facebook group created by her ex-classmates with the title, "Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous."

The TikTok post featured two photos — a screenshot of the Facebook group, long known among Gaga's fans, and a picture of ther at the 2019 Academy Awards overlayed with a list featuring many honors she's received in her career.

"Some people I went to college [with] made this way back when," commented Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, underneath the images. "this is why you can't give up when people doubt you or put you down—gotta keep going."