Lady Gaga Meat Dress Explained; PETA Issues Statement

Whether is a red mask made of lace or heeless platforms, Lady Gaga is never too afraid to express herself via fashion — but the so-called “Meat Dress” the pop hitmaker wore onstage at this weekend’s 27th MTV VMAs is stirring controversy for the singer amongst animal lovers. Gaga explained her decision to wear the outre outfit during an appearance on the season premiere of The Ellen DeGeneres Show Monday.

She first raised eyebrows with her meat bikini on the cover of the September issue of Japanese Vogue and Sunday at The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, she caused an even bigger commotion when she wore a dress made of meat accentuated by a matching hat and even a raw person! Now the innovative artist is finally explaining her designer beef.

“What is the purpose of the meat?” DeGeneres asked the singer during her taping for the Season 8 premiere of Ellen. “Well, it is certainly no disrespect to anyone that is vegan or vegetarian. As you know, I am the most judgment free human being on the earth,” Gaga explained. “However, it has many interpretations but for me this evening if we don’t stand up for what we believe in and if we don’t fight for our rights pretty soon we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on our bones. And, I am not a piece of meat.”

But the bigger question on everyone’s mind is — was Lady Gaga’s meat dress made with real meat? That would be a “Yep,” according to AllieIsWired.com.

Despite her protests to the contrary, the “PokerFace” star has raised the ire of animal rights activists with the outspoken anti-cruelty group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. On Monday, PETA’s President Ingrid Newkirk’s released a statement about the singer’s dress.

“In her line of business, Lady Gaga has a hard time being ‘over the top,’ and wearing a dress made from cuts of dead cows is offensive enough to bring comment, but someone should whisper in her ear that there are more people upset by butchery than impressed by it—and that means a lot of young people will not be buying her records if she keeps it up. On the other hand, maybe it was fake, and she’ll talk about that later,” Newkirk said. “Meat is the decomposing flesh of an abused animal who didn’t want to die, and after time spent under the TV lights, it would smell like the rotting flesh that it is and likely be crawling in maggots—not too attractive, really. If Lady Gaga continues to wear meat, the perfect accessory would be a PETA vegetarian/vegan starter kit. A lot of people will take one look and want one. It’s sending lots of people to PETA.org to download our kit, so I guess we should be glad.”

Always the mediator, Ellen presented Gaga with an alternative to her meat ensemble: a bikini and skirt made out of vegetables.