Lady Gaga Responds to Old Facebook Group “Stefani Germanotta, You Will Never Be Famous”

While attending New York University, Lady Gaga faced harsh criticism from some of her classmates, who created a Facebook group titled “Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous,” mocking her for pursuing her dreams. Now, Gaga is the one having the last laugh.

On Wednesday, she reflected on that period of her life by commenting on a TikTok that featured a screenshot of the now-deleted Facebook group. The post contrasted a photo of Gaga with a large X over it against her many accomplishments—an Academy Award, 13 Grammys, two Golden Globes, and countless other accolades.

“Some people I went to college [with] made this way back when 👏👏👏,” Gaga wrote. “This is why you can’t give up when people doubt you or put you down—you’ve got to keep going.”

Lady Gaga acknowledges infamous Facebook page, ‘Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous,’ created by old classmates:

“This is why you can’t give up when people doubt you or put you down.” pic.twitter.com/aVhJ9oXoFF

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 12, 2024

Gaga attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts for a short time before leaving in 2005 to fully focus on her music and acting career. It was during this period that she began making a name for herself, performing in clubs around downtown Manhattan and embracing the stage name Lady Gaga, inspired by Queen’s iconic song “Radio Ga Ga.”

There are even videos of her performing “No Floods” at the 2005 Columbus Day Parade and an NYU talent show, before she adopted the name Gaga.

“Gaga is the stronger, more empowered part of myself that I discovered while being young in New York—immersed in music, collaborating with fellow artists, working with musicians and writers, studying the scene, and living the lifestyle,” she shared in an interview with Jane Fonda for *Variety’s* “Actors on Actors.” “That’s when I started calling myself Gaga.”