Lady Gaga & Elton John On Cover Of ‘Billboard’, Gaga Opens Up About Depression

Lady Gaga and Elton John have appeared together on the cover of Billboard’s “We Can Be Heroes” philanthropy issue.

Gaga has opened up about how her Born This Way Foundation — which now focuses on peer support and preventive initiatives, partnered with the Yale enter for Emotional Intelligence for youth mental health research and has a collaboration with the Elton John AIDS Foundation on the way — started due to her lifelong struggles with depression and anxiety.

“I’ve suffered through depression and anxiety my entire life, I still suffer with it every single day,” she told the mag. “I just want these kids to know that that depth that they feel as human beings is normal. We were born that way. This modern thing, where everyone is feeling shallow and less connected? That’s not human.”

She mentioned the effect she thinks the internet has on our lives; “There is something in the way that we are now, with our cell phones and people are not looking at each other and not being in the moment with each other, that kids feel isolated. They read all of this extremely hateful language on the Internet. The internet is a toilet. It is. It used to be a fantastic resource — but you have to sort through shit to find the good stuff.”

Gaga also spoke about the traumatic experience behind “Til It Happens To You” and the song’s emotional recording process, as well as her friendship with Elton John. Read the full interview here.