Lady Gaga Slams Transphobic Trolls Disparaging Dylan Mulvaney: ‘This Kind of Hatred Is Violence’

If you come for one of Lady Gaga‘s Little Monsters, then she’s going to bring her claws out. A few online trolls found that out the hard way on Monday (March 11) when Gaga shared a lengthy retaliation against critics of Dylan Mulvaney.

In an Instagram post, Gaga — who recently posed for a photo with the transgender influencer in honor of International Women’s Day — called out a wave of commenters who flooded Mulvaney’s post with anti-trans rhetoric. “It’s appalling to me that a post about [International] Women’s Day by Dylan Mulvaney and me would be met with such vitriol and hatred,” she wrote.

The “Born This Way” singer went on to share that news outlets shouldn’t be calling the transphobic response to Mulvaney a “backlash,” and instead refer to it for what it is: “Hatred is hatred, and this kind of hatred is violence,” she wrote. “‘Backlash’ would imply that people who love or respect Dylan and me didn’t like something we did. This is not backlash. This is hatred.”

This isn’t the first time Mulvaney has found herself in the eye of an anti-trans publicity storm. Following a promotion she did with Bud Light in 2023, both the influencer and the brand received a massive influx of hatred, resulting in a boycott of Bud Light led by artists such as Kid Rock, Ted Nugent and others. Mulvaney later criticized the beer brand for turning “a blind eye” to the vitriol she received from their promotional clip. “For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse than not hiring a trans person at all,” she said.

In her post, Gaga took the opportunity to speak about the “immense work” that still needs doing when it comes to transgender acceptance around the world. “I feel very protective in this moment, not only of Dylan, but of the trans community who continues to lead the way with their endless grace and inspiration in the face of constant degradation, intolerance, and physical, verbal, and mental violence,” she wrote. “I certainly do not speak for this community, but I have something to say. I hope all women will come together to honor us ALL for International Women’s Day, and may we do that always until THE DAY that all women are celebrated equally.”

Closing out her post, Gaga urged her audience to “honor the complexity and challenge of trans life,” and once again reminded people to use the proper phrasing when speaking about transphobic speech. “I love people too much to allow hatred to be referred to as ‘backlash.’ People deserve better.”

Check out Gaga’s full Instagram post here.