Lady Gaga Admits To Taking Lithium After Breakdown

Lady Gaga revealed she had a psychotic break that left her reeling while on the “Joanne” world tour.

She said suppressing the aftermath of being raped by a music producer at 19 eventually overwhelmed her in a Thursday interview with Rolling Stone. She kept performing and later filmed “A Star Is Born,” but said the turmoil was so severe she needed psychiatric medication to function. (RELATED: ‘Agonizing Decision’: Lady Gaga Cancels Concert Minutes Before Start Time)

“I did ‘A Star Is Born’ on lithium,” Lady Gaga told the outlet.

TOPSHOT – US actress and singer Lady Gaga attends the US premiere of Warner’s “Joker: Folie a Deux” at the TCL Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California, September 30, 2024. (Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)

Lady Gaga played the Super Bowl halftime show and racked up Golden Globes, posing for cameras as if everything were seamless from the outside.

Behind the scenes, she said, her mental state was deteriorating. She told Rolling Stone she jumped straight into the “Joanne” world tour after filming the movie, a pace that pushed her into what she described as a psychotic break. She ultimately halted the tour and cleared her schedule to focus on stabilizing her health.

ELMONT, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 07: Lady Gaga accepts the “Artist of the Year” award onstage during the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena on September 07, 2025 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Manny Carabel/Getty Images for MTV)

“There was one day that my sister said to me, ‘I don’t see my sister anymore,’” she told Rolling Stone. “And I canceled the tour.”

“There was one day I went to the hospital for psychiatric care. I needed to take a break. I couldn’t do anything … I completely crashed. It was really scary,” she admitted.

She took time to heal and with the help of her fiancé, Michael Polansky, the famous singer says she now considers herself to be “a healthy, whole person.”

“There was a time where I didn’t think I could get better …  I feel really lucky to be alive. I know that might sound dramatic, but we know how this can go.”