Lady Gaga believes kindness is a “free currency”.
The 39-year-old pop star has credited her parents with instilling good values into her at an early age, and Gaga has revealed that she makes a concerted effort to remain true to her roots, despite her fame and success.
The chart-topping singer told People: “I am an Italian American girl who grew up in a neighbourhood full of every kind of person you could imagine, and I think that’s where I first learned that belonging doesn’t mean everyone looks like you or lives like you. It means people show up for each other.”
Gaga feels fortunate to have had such kind and caring parents.
She explained: “They came from working-class families and worked incredibly hard, and there was always this unspoken understanding in our building and our block that you looked out for your neighbours. That’s something I carry with me everywhere. It’s the foundation of everything I believe about kindness.”
In 2012, Gaga founded the Born This Way Foundation with the ambition of creating a kinder and braver world by focusing on the mental wellbeing of young people.
And the singer now believes that it takes “courage” to show a kind and soft side to one’s personality.
She said: “When people are feeling scared and uncertain, they sometimes forget how powerful a single act of kindness can be.
“My mom and I built the Born This Way Foundation on the belief that kindness isn’t soft, it’s brave. It takes courage to look at someone who’s different from you and say, I see you, and you matter.”
Meanwhile, Gaga previously credited Michael Polansky, her fiance, with transforming her life.
The pop star – who began dating Michael in 2020 – described herself as a “healthy, whole person” after finding love.
She told Rolling Stone: “Being in love with someone that cares about the real me made a very big difference.”