Marilyn Manson’s Issues With Lady Gaga

The best pop and classic rock stars are outrageous. At their peaks, Marilyn Manson and Lady Gaga were both outrageous. Despite this, the “Beautiful People” star had some major criticisms of Gaga’s music. In contrast, Gaga seems to have a positive view of Manson.

Marilyn Manson didn’t think Lady Gaga lived up to other pop stars

During a 2012 interview with Digital Spy , Manson revealed he liked the “Bad Romance” singer ‘s image more than her music. “I like the general idea of what she’s about,” the “Lunchbox” singer said. “I have a hard time liking her music. It’s not my style of music that I like, and I like a lot of music that is in that vein.”

The “As Sick As the Secrets Within” star named some of the pop singers he appreciated. “I like Kylie Minogue sometimes — I like a lot of unusual stuff,” he said. “I don’t know — I like Justin Timberlake over Lady Gaga, just musically.” Manson’s opinions are surprising considering that Minogue’s music is very similar to Gaga’s. They both make club music aimed at the LGBTQ community.

Like Manson, the “Born This Way” singer was known for her over-the-top outfits, androgyny, and her penchant for offending the religious right. “I get the whole idea of what she’s doing and I appreciate that,” Manson explained. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing, I think it’s a good thing.”

Marilyn Manson said he has a different approach to fashion than she does

Manson said he and Gaga had different approaches to fashion. “At the same time, I don’t try to have a different look every single moment because I think it’s more ephemeral, it becomes less permanent,” he said. “People like to identify with one single thing.” While Manson has given us some iconic looks, none of them are as famous as Gaga’s meat dress .

Manson tempered his criticism of the “Telephone” superstar. “I’m not one to knock her, she’s obviously succeeded in what she’s doing,” he added. “It’s not exactly the type of thing that I find myself listening to, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like her.”

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Lady Gaga said the ‘Sweet Dream’ singer is a huge influence on her

On the other hand, Gaga’s public statements about Manson have been far more positive. Gigwise reports that Gaga cited Manson as a significant influence on her career. She certainly took some cues from Manson’s overstuffed, creepy music videos, as anyone who has scratched their head through the entire “Alejandro” clip can attest. As an artist, she’s best understood as a combination of Manson and the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna.

Most Little Monsters probably aren’t aware of this, but Manson once jumped on a remix of Gaga’s hit “LoveGame.” It was a nice gesture but the track sounds awful. Gaga has some spookier tunes that could have benefitted from a Manson cameo, but he doesn’t add anything to the clubby R&B song “LoveGame.” Interestingly, “LoveGame” is similar to Timberlake’s music, which Manson said he enjoys. This Gaga/Manson collaboration could and should have led to something more substantial, but, alas, the two stars never worked together again.

Manson isn’t the biggest fan of Gaga’s music but she wouldn’t be the same without his influence.