Lady Gaga Reveals The Only Controversial Thing About "Judas" Video

In the video for Lady Gaga’s “Judas,” Jesus has cornrows. The disciples are a leather-clad motorcycle gang. Gaga wears a bikini top featuring nipple-hiding crosses, and folks are anointed with holy water and beer. But as Gaga tells E!:

“In my opinion, the only controversial thing about this video is that I’m wearing Christian Lacroix and Chanel in the same frame.”

Lacroix, sweetie darling. Lacroix. The rococo maximalist fashion designer known for experimentation and opulence, in the same shot as Chanel, the brand known for simple elegance. Cue the clutching of pearls!

Gaga also says: “This video is not meant to be an attack on religion. It’s not meant to be an attack on anyone’s beliefs. I respect and love everybody’s beliefs. My fans know that about me. I consider myself a strong and devoted Catholic, and a religious and spiritual person who’s obsessed with religious art.”

Her statement seems to be fairly genuine, and unless you are very conservative and very easily offended, there’s little blasphemy in the clip. Twenty years ago, when Madonna kissed a black saint in “Like A Prayer,” Pepsi canceled a multimillion dollar promotional contract with the singer and the Vatican condemned the song. But Gaga’s clip — which hit YouTube yesterday and already boasts more than 2 million views — is fairly reverent of the New Testament. Jesus is a nice, well-liked, handsome guy; Judas sexy, but a jerk. The real shocker is that “Judas” is not shocking. Pop music may be known for pushing boundaries and flirting with shocking concepts, but if you’re looking for some unholy hellfire type shit, you’re going to have to haul out your old Slayer cassettes. Gaga really is just a nice Catholic girl who likes shoes. The clip is beautifully shot, visually arresting and fun, however, and if you have a Biblical Boogie playlist on iTunes, this song can go after Hammer’s “Pray” and before Army Of Lovers’s “Crucified.”