Lady Gaga recently addressed the decade-long misconception about her sex, noting she let the transgender rumors fly to protect the community.

American singer, Lady Gaga has revealed why she chose to ignore rumours that she’s a transgender. Speaking in an interview with Variety, Gaga disclosed that she chose not to address the rumours because she didn’t want to make being transgender seem shameful.

Lady Gaga is opening up about a chapter early in her career where rumors spread she was a man — and why she never denied those claims. The Oscar and Grammy Award winner said she was intentional not to take the bait surrounding the scuttlebutt about her gender.