Blasphemy in the Desert: Gaga’s ‘Judas’ and the Mockery of Easter
Is it art or just plain profanity of the sacred?
‘Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked’ ~ Galatians 6:7
It takes a lot for me to get disturbed nowadays by things I see on the internet, maybe I just have a particularly nice algorithm or I am somewhat immune, but Friday might have managed it. I normally look forward to watching a bit of Coachella each year (mostly to critique some of those woeful outfits) but this year I was just left with a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth. I switched on the stream to marvel at Lady Gaga grace the stage as she always does but found actually what I was watching felt virtually Satanic instead.
I don’t want to be a Debby Downer (and I promise I don’t spend all my time complaining) but the premise of singing ‘Judas’ on Good Friday doesn’t sit right with me at all. The song in itself, I don’t find as offensive as some other Christians might; I understand her use of Judas as simply a metaphor for Gaga’s on and off lover who betrayed her and what she is trying to do there. What I don’t understand and have never liked is the way she has chosen to perform and sell this song over the years. Her dressing up as Mary Magdalene and dancing around the disciples is simply only added in for the shock factor of Christians and Catholics alike posing the question: is it alright to use Christian symbols as just another stage prop?
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Gaga try on the shock tactic either; in 2010 her video for ‘Alejandro’ (another song she chose to perform at Coachella on Good Friday) sent shockwaves through the Catholic community due to her donning a tight red latex nun costume as swallowing the Rosary surrounded by a bunch of partially naked men. Many over the years have labelled both these moves as ‘iconic’ but many religious groups find this deeply disturbing and have described it as ‘mockery of the sacred’. Furthermore, these moves from Gaga aren’t even exactly original either; a lot of it feels like a lame attempt to have the same impact Madonna had all the way back in the 80s with her similar blasphemous techniques.
Click here to watch ‘Alejandro’
So why exactly is it so bad that she is performing ‘Judas’ on Good Friday? 14 Good Fridays on from its initial release, the song’s imagery still has the same sting that it did all those years ago and choosing to perform it with the assistance of hellish red lighting and devil like outfits on a day that is the centre of Christian grief and reverence just feels like mockery and is frankly distasteful.
On a more sobering note though, I know and believe that God can not feel in any way threatened by this and these little acts don’t have any impact on his power, it’s just good to speak about and start that conversation. We must instead turn our attention away from it and onto what Easter truly means and what Christ did for us 2000 years ago on that cross.
Hope you all have an amazing Easter and eat as much chocolate as you physically can x