She lives for the applause, and some celebs are eager to give it to her. According to The Observer, Lady Gaga's famous fans include Celine Dion, Adam Lambert, and Britney Spears. Britney even tweeted about it back in 2011: "I love Lady Gaga. I think she’s a really interesting artist."
They love her, but with an estimated net worth of $300 million, nine Grammys, an Oscar, and a handful of platinum-certified albums, Gaga can afford to be picky about who she lets into her inner circle. Britney, Celine, and Adam don't seem to have made the cut.
Some of Lady Gaga's celebrity friends knew her before she made it big. Some of them met her at the height of her fame. Most of them helped her along the way, collaborating on projects or even (in one famous fashion designer's case) inspiring Gaga songs in their own names. It takes talent to become one of Gaga's besties.
Not every star wants to be close to Mother Monster, though. Her controversial artistic choices and fashion faux-pas have earned her an impressive lineup of celebrity haters! Read on to learn who can't get enough Gaga - and who can't stand her.
20 Lana Del Rey (Inner Circle)
Sleepover sisters? These two pop icons having slumber parties sounds like elaborate fan-fiction, but according to the Daily Mail, it's just how they like to spend time together. Lana and Gaga met as young performers with the same manager (Bob Leone). Daily Mail says he had them working the same club circuit in Brooklyn, so we bet they have some great shared memories.
19 Kelly Osborne (Can’t Stand Her)
Kelly made a big mistake when she fired shots at fashion icon Gaga on the now-cancelled E! series, Fashion Police. In a 2012 episode, she went so far as to call Gaga a "butterface," then backpedaled in an apologetic Tweet the next day. Gaga responded with: "Your show breeds negativity, and over the years has even become comedic in nature. What about YOUR body revolution?" No friendship here.
18 John Legend (Inner Circle)
John Legend was one of a select few celebrities included in Gaga's super exclusive 30th birthday celebration back in March 2016, as reported by Harper's Bazaar. In more recent months they both spoke out about ending their friendships with R. Kelly, and have remained a united front on that issue. Two upstanding citizens who like flashy parties and the A-list life...we can see how they get along.
17 Chrissy Teigen (Inner Circle)
Harper's Bazaar reports that Chrissy Teigen was also at Gaga's exclusive 30th birthday bash, and somehow we aren't surprised. Who doesn't want Chrissy Teigen as a BFF? She's famous for being as funny as she is gorgeous, so Gaga is lucky to count this supermodel among her elite inner circle of pals. She and Gaga are both part of power couples too, so the double date potential is epic.
16 Azealia Banks (Can’t Stand Her)
Remember Azealia banks? Billboard recently listed her song '212' as one of the tracks that defined the last decade, but her only other are hits she's taken at celebrities. She picked a fight with Gaga over alleged plagiarism: "@ladygaga make sure u let them know where u got the title for red flame from," Azealia tweeted in 2013. "U stole that from the demo I sent u." Gaga never responded.
15 Lorde (Inner Circle)
You know how some people say that best friends start to look like each other after a while? We think Gaga and Lorde have reached this point in their friendship. We got a peek into their love when Lorde tweeted about Gaga in September, saying "she is my queen" and Gaga responded with "Thank you Lorde. You're so talented, sweet, and supportive." Aww.
14 Adam Levine (Can’t Stand Her)
Not everybody loved Artpop. It was her lowest-selling album to that point, making only about a third as much as Born This Way and not even one fifth as much as The Fame/The Fame Monster according to Chartmasters data. When Adam criticized it in a series of subtweets, Gaga bit back with "uh oh guys the art police is here." The pair haven't been seen together publicly since.
13 Donatella Versace (Inner Circle)
Gaga is so fond of this designer that she wrote a whole song about her, but how does Donatella feel about Gaga? “I adore her. The song arrived quite a while after we first knew each other,” she explained in Attitude magazine. “Gaga is a very emotional person, she’s very insecure, which I like about her. Every true artist is insecure. We’ve become good friends and we talk so much.”
12 Pharrell Williams (Inner Circle)
Pharell and Gaga aren't loud about their friendship, but if you pay attention to pop culture you'll have noticed these two collaborating over and over again, both inside and outside the recording studio. Both artists appeared on the 2018 Eve track 'Guess Who's Single' and later in the Revlon "Love Is" campaign. He was also at her 30th birthday party, earning major inner circle friendship cred.
11 Christina Aguilera (Can’t Stand Her)
Christina missed her chance at friendship way back in 2008 when she was asked about Gaga and answered: "I’m not quite sure who this person is." Years later (after Gaga fans had 'cancelled' Christina over the comment) Gaga brought up the Xtina feud on Watch What Happens Live!: "From me to her, I'm so sorry for anything that anyone ever said to her because of my existence."
10 Shangela (Inner Circle)
Shangela's own star was on the rise when she was cast alongside Lady Gaga in A Star Is Born. She was just coming off an all-star season of "Rupaul's Drag Race" after years of losing challenges on the show, facing struggles similar to Gaga's own A Star Is Born character. Since then these two have become fast friends, cozying up at events and supporting each other at their respective performances.
9 Barbra Streisand (Inner Circle)
Babs starred in the 1976 film A Star Is Born in the exact same role as Lady Gaga played in 2018's version. It follows that these two must have an insane amount in common. Both superstar divas, both Oscar-nominated, both Grammy winners, the list goes on. We're not surprised at all that they've been pictured hanging out together when Gaga's in LA.
8 Kate Hudson (Inner Circle)
Kate Hudson and Lady Gaga are often seen hugging on red carpets at events like the Golden Globes and the Met Gala (pictured above). They have a clear connection, and it's reinforced by both stars supporting each other's separate projects. Proof? Kate promoted A Star Is Born by singing "Shallow" while on a run and sharing a clip of this impromptu jog/performance to her socials, as reported by USA Today.
7 M.I.A. (Can’t Stand Her)
M.I.A. was another artist who underestimated and insulted Gaga back when the pop queen was just starting out. In an interview with NMA Magazine she basically called Gaga basic. "None of her music’s reflective of how weird she wants to be or thinks she is," M.I.A. claimed. "She models herself on Grace Jones and Madonna, but the music sounds like 20-year-old Ibiza music, you know?"
6 Bradley Cooper (Inner Circle)
These A Star Is Born costars can't get enough of each other. "She is authentic and she's coming from a very deep, honest place," Bradley told Elle. "She made me feel so comfortable from the first day we met." Gaga added in response that Bradley himself was "an incredible visionary" and "like a ninja," which we don't totally understand but fully support. Maybe it's an inside joke?
5 Taylor Swift (Inner Circle)
Is there any woman in music Taylor Swift HASN'T collected as part of her famous friend group? Taylor seems to have gotten her lovely manicured hands on every major female singer today (besides Katy Perry, who happens to be coming up on this list!). Although Gaga and Taylor's friendship is low profile, Taylor was another guest who Harper's Bazaar reports attended Gaga's intimate 30th birthday celebration.
4 Katy Perry (Can’t Stand Her)
Even though Katy Perry and Lady Gaga broke into the music scene at the same time, they definitely came at it from different backgrounds. Katy's religious upbringing might have even shaped her opinions on Gaga's music. According to Zimbio, Katy sub-tweeted about Gaga's track "Judas" when it came out: "Using blasphemy as entertainment is as cheap as a comedian telling a fart joke." Clearly no fan of Mother Monster.
3 Elton John (Inner Circle)
Sir Elton is so close to Lady Gaga that he named her the godmother of his sons. "She comes whenever can she can and visits the boys," he told iHeart Radio. "She bathes them, she sings to them, she reads stories to them. She really cares. She leads a very heavy-scheduled life, but she always finds time for them." The best part? He says they call her "Gaga-mother!"
2 Beyoncé (Inner Circle)
It's been 10 years since they worked together on "Telephone," and Beyoncé rarely speaks about her private life - but Gaga recently gave us a glimpse into their enduring friendship when she posted on IG about a sweatshirt Beyoncé had sent her. "Thank you so much honey B. Miss you,"Gaga wrote. She then admitted how much she admires Bey. "This was so kind...You inspire us all." Aw.
1 Madonna (Can’t Stand Her)
Some people thought Gaga's "Born This Way" sounded like Madonna's "Express Yourself" when it was released in 2011. Madonna was one of those people. She even performed a mashup of the two songs during her MDNA tour to prove her point. Gaga finally spoke out about it in 2016 to Vanity Fair: "I wouldn't make that comparison at all." Either way, Madge isn't her biggest fan.
Sources: VanityFair, LittleMonsters, GraziaDaily, Stuff, GagaDaily, Observer