Don't judge a book...

I don't like Lady Gaga's music. I think its gauche. Therefore it was easy for me to criticize her without knowing anything else about her. I described her fashion sense to my stepmother as looking like she rolled in glue and then a glitter/junk yard stuff. As you might guess, I have no problem with glitter and/or junk yard stuff. However, I had the impression that, like her music, her fashion sense is over the top loud and in your face. Perhaps if it were one and not the other I would not have been so offended.

I adore Stephen Fry. His wit, his intelligence, his ability to connect.

So when I saw this picture of the two of them together in a hotel hallway, I was struck by how much they clash. What were they doing together in the same space, I wondered?

Eventually curiosity overcame me and I googled their names in a single search. And, lo, I found that Stephen Fry had actually interviewed her in this case. And, lo, I found that as I listened to it, I had to admit that I really liked what she was saying. She sounded intelligent too. She sounds sincere and generous. She's someone who stands up for the underdog. I was, astonishingly, impressed. My favorite part is when she says,

"I live halfway between reality and fantasy at all times because I choose to, and anyone can choose that, and I believe everybody has something so magical about themselves and why, as a society, are we so afraid of magic? Why is magic synonymous with artifice? Why is the fantastic synonymous with a lie? If art is a lie, then I will tell that lie every day until it’s f****** true’

She also eloquently busted me (and many others out there too, I'm sure) when she said,

"You all have an opinion about pop singers or public figures, that ... we only care about ourselves, and how could it be possible that a woman like me who loves theatre and loves fantasy and loves magic, how could it be possible that I could really mean what I’m saying? I would say that’s quite anti-feminism, isn’t it, to say that a woman based on the way that she wears her hair and her shoes would not be sincere."

So there you have it, I admit my fault at jumping to conclusions and making judgements. And I encourage you to listen to the interview in full, here.