Lady Gaga: A Club Kid Party Monster Rip-Off?

What I have to say might upset some. The handful of regular readers I have might cry blasphemy, re-evaluate the way they see the world, or spend the next hour and a half watching Party Monster here. But someone has to call Lady Gaga out on this (and those near and dear to me know that I’m never shy about calling out those who so deserve it). The striking similarity between Lady Gaga’s entire persona and the Club Kids depicted in the film Party Monster is congruent to the point of suspicion.

A little background information: the Club Kids were an entourage of New York nightclub personalities led by Michael Alig and James St. James in the late 80’s and early 90’s. They lived their everyday lives in the most outrageous costumes imaginable, snacked on ecstasy, ketamine, cocaine, and heroin, practiced pansexuality, and never shook the glitter of their clothes in the morning.

James St. James, who was already living the dream as a socialite with a hefty trust fund, mentored mid-west boy Michael Alig, who soon rose up the ranks of the NYC party scene by hosting themed parties at venues like the notorious Limelight, own by the “King of Clubs” Peter Gatien.

The Club Kids became the toast of the town, and got paid to make appearances at dance clubs on a nightly basis–yes, literally their job was to show up to a party and rage. Alig promoted these crazy parties, as well as himself. At the peak of their fame, they did a press tour across America and “recruited” new Club Kids, who Alig himself would assign names and personas to.

The “colorful world [Alig] created” came crashing down when he was convicted of killing one of his minions Angel Melendez over a drug debt. Today, the twisted yet fascinating Alig sits in jail with a tentative release date in 2013. James St. James stole the spotlight back with his memoir Disco Bloodbath, which inspired both a documentary on their lives and the feature film Party Monster.

This film marked Macauley Culkin’s return to film after an eight year hiatus, but it’s Seth Green’s performance that steals the show. I could break down the film’s all-star cast and stunning visuals, but that’s not what this post is about. This post is here to bring to your attention the freakish similarities between this movie (2003) and Lady Gaga (who hit the scene around 2008).

The Club Kids and Lady Gaga’s Costume Similarities

They’ve both got a knack for bizarre attire. “So what?” you might ask. Costumes were not reserved for performances or occasions–both Lady Gaga and the Club Kids lived their lives in outrageous apparel. Platforms, face paint, costume changes, and discomfort was a part of their daily routine. Britney Spears and Madonna wear yoga pants while grocery shopping or pumping gas. Lady Gaga wears kermit the frogs while getting food, and well, Club Kids only ate Special K.

It gets stranger though.

James St. James in the film, and Lady Gaga at the VMA’s.

This is Seth Green as James St. James about 8:09 minutes into the movie. This is Lady Gaga at the VMA’s.

This steak dress is 43:50 minutes into Party Monster. This is Lady Gaga again at the VMA’s.

Their Vernacular and Values

Michael Alig’s weekly parties were called Disco 2000. He had another themed party called Disco Truck. The memoir written by James St. James is titled Disco Bloodbath. Although it was a good 10 years after the heyday of disco dancing, it was a sort of “thing” for the club kids. Now, another 10 years after the Club Kids, Lady Gaga sings about taking rides on Disco Sticks and the Disco Heaven.

Gaga’s re-released first album that includes bonus songs is titled The Fame Monster. She refers to her fans as her “little monsters”. Fame Monster. Little Monsters. Party Monster?

It gets weirder though…

The core values of the Club Kids were things like money, success, fame, and glamour. You would he hard pressed to find a song written by Gaga that isn’t about at least two of these things. From “Money Honey” to “Glamour Zombie,” her favorite subject matter seems to be about well, the same things the Kids chanted about in a film made 5 years before she hit her mark.

Lady Gaga and the Club Kids’ Sexuality

Michael Alig had DJ Keoki (played by Wilmer Valderrama) and Gitsie (portrayed by Chloe Sevingy). He was bisexual, and as we all learned in “Poker Face,” Lady Gaga pitches for both teams as well (or at least claims to do so).

The Voice of the Outcasts

Alig literally used taglines such as “largest collection of weirdos in the world” and “let out your inner psycho” to draw crowds to his parties. Gaga uses similar tactics to connect with her fans (although she is about as mainstream as you can get).

The Differences…

Check out this video of the real life Club Kids (including Michael Alig, James St. James, Amanda Lepore, and RuPaul) on the Joan Rivers show. They babble on incoherently and don’t even try to hide the fact that they are high as kites. Lady Gaga by contrast is put together in her interviews and has intelligent things to say.

Rather than just playing up her eccentricities to merely self-promote, she uses her star status to push issues that are important to her, notably gay rights issues. The Club Kids loved attention and one-upping each other, but for what? Vanity? Famewhoring? Gaga delights in shocking others just as much as the Club Kid gang, but she at least uses the attention to toot her agenda. The Club Kids had no agenda except “let’s get f*cked up.”

Coincidence or Conspiracy?

I have no idea. Obviously, she is too young to be a legitimate part of the Club Kid scene, or even be old enough to be aware that it was a subculture during its heyday. The film and documentary came out during her formidable years. I’m confused as to why no one else has noticed or bothered to call her out on this. Are these comparisons too far-reaching, or do you find this suspicious as well?

Read more from Chelsea Cawood here.