Lady Gaga Explains Her Meat Dress: ‘It’s No Disrespect’

Lady Gaga’s meat dress should not be interpreted as a message against animal rights, the pop star told Ellen DeGeneres Sunday night (Sept. 12) immediately after the MTV VMAs, where she wore the fleshy outfit to accept video of the year.

Lady Gaga Dominates VMAs

Red Carpet Photos | Performance Photos

Gaga explained in the interview, which will air on DeGeneres’ daytime show this afternoon, that the meat dress was tied to her protest against the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and was a statement against the governmental restrictions placed on the rights of gay soldiers.

“It’s certainly no disrespect to anyone that’s vegan or vegetarian,” Gaga told DeGeneres, who herself is vegan, in a post-show interview. “As you know, I’m the most judgment-free human being on the Earth. It has many interpretations, but for me this evening it’s [saying], ‘If we don’t stand up for what we believe in, if we don’t fight for our rights, pretty soon we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on our bones.’ “

Gaga then held up her recent cover for Vogues Hommes Japan, on which she wears a “meat bikini,” and said, “I am not a piece of meat.”

DeGeneres ended the segment by presenting Gaga with a two-piece and skirt made out of kale, leafy greens and other vegetables, for “the next time you want to pose in a bikini somewhere.”

As they did when Gaga’s Vogue Japan cover image leaked, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) released a statement regarding Gaga’s meat dress, saying, “Wearing a dress made out cuts of dead cows is offensive enough to bring comment, but someone should whisper in her ear that there are more people who are upset by butchery than who are impressed by it — and that means a lot of young people will not be buying her records if she keeps this stuff up.”

Gaga won a total of eight VMAs Sunday night, including video of the year, best female video and best pop video.