The ‘meat dress’ quickly became a global talking point after Lady Gaga donned it at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards!

Lady Gaga’s fashion choices never fail to make a statement. Her creative and self-expression boundaries have always been pushed by her outrageous hats and outlandish outfits. But one particular outfit, the infamous meat dress, really infuriated many people, including animal rights activists. The Born This Way hitmaker actually wore red meat when she walked the red carpet at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards.

Her outrageous dress choice drew criticism from PETA spokespersons. Animal rights activists were extremely shocked to see what the singer had worn in this Franc Fernandez-designed dress, and thus, it did not sit well with them. They maintained that the use of animal carcasses as a statement piece hurt their cause as it promoted the idea that animals are nothing more than commodities.
Lady Gaga in a still from House of Gucci (2021)
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Animal Rights Activists vs. Lady Gaga: The Hot Debate Around the Meat Dress

One cannot talk about Lady Gaga‘s scandals without mentioning her jaw-dropping meat dress. It quickly became a global talking point when she wore it to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Many people were confused, surprised, and outraged by this controversial outfit, which was made entirely of raw beef cuts. While the dress—designed by Franc Fernandez and styled by Nicola Formichetti—was denounced by animal rights organizations, Time named it the year’s most fashionable item of 2010.
Lady Gaga at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
The idea’s originality was the subject of conjecture, according to Vogue, with comparisons to similar images in modern art and popular culture made. Like her other gowns, it was archived but put on exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. Gaga made a joke (via Yahoo) as she accepted the Video of the Year award for Bad Romance at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards while sporting the meat dress:

“I never thought I’d be asking Cher to hold my meat purse.”

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Many people responded differently to her meat dress after the event. She was the target of harsh criticism from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). PETA, according to the Telegraph, denounced the outfit in a statement that said

“Wearing a dress made from cuts of dead cows is offensive enough to bring comment, but someone should whisper in her ear that more people are upset by butchery than are impressed by it.”

Gaga made her third outfit change for the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, but her meat dress quickly became the talk of the town as the “most outrageous fashion moment” of the evening (per MTV). The artist’s choice drew criticism from animal activists, who claimed the dress may have been made from the flesh of a tortured animal that was put down against its will.

Lady Gaga Discussed Franc Fernandez-Designed ‘Meat Dress’

Lady Gaga explained approximately eleven years after donning her controversial meat dress. The actress-musician, 37, talked about 19 of her most famous looks in an interview with British Vogue. Of course, one of those was the meat dress by Franc Fernandez that she wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. The House of Gucci actress claimed that makeup artist Val Garland came up with the idea for the look, adding:

“I thought this was quite funny, and I said, ‘Well, that’s a great way to make sure that everybody leaves you alone at a party’.”

Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani
After that, Gaga claimed, she discussed whether or not to make a statement on the red carpet that went beyond fashion with her “artistic friends”. According to the singer, it was painstakingly constructed with meat stitched onto a corset, making it “actually a garment”.

She continued by thinking back to the day she had worn the dress. Even though she was vegan at the time, she claimed that her stylist Brandon Maxwell sewed “last bits of meat” to her. She added:

“It smelled like meat. It was thrilling to wear.”

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The controversy surrounding Lady Gaga’s meat dress caused dissenting views to surface in both the pop culture and activism domains. Well, regardless of your opinion on the meat dress, it sparked a debate that still has resonance in our culture today.