Lady Gaga Declares Herself a ‘Labubu’ in Whimsical Pre-Mayhem Ball Show Video…read more…
In true Lady Gaga fashion, the pop icon is once again blurring the lines between art, performance, and absurdity. Just days before kicking off her highly anticipated Mayhem Ball tour, Gaga took to social media to post a playful and surreal video declaring herself a “Labubu.” The bizarre moment, shared with her millions of fans, has sparked an explosion of reactions online—ranging from confused to enchanted—and once again reminds the world that when it comes to Gaga, nothing is ever quite what it seems.
The video, which runs just under a minute, features Gaga dressed in a flamboyant outfit composed of oversized faux fur, rhinestone horns, and a glitter-streaked face, dancing erratically while pointing at the camera and exclaiming, “I’m a Labubu!” The scene is shot in her backstage dressing room, where plush toys and colorful props surround her in a chaos of childlike energy and performative madness. At one point, she cradles a tiny figurine of a Labubu—the beloved character from the Hong Kong-based toy brand POP MART—and says, “He understands me. I am him.”
Fans familiar with the Labubu figure immediately recognized the reference. The mischievous, gremlin-like creature with sharp teeth and giant eyes has developed a cult following among collectors of designer toys, often symbolizing the weird and wonderful. Gaga’s embrace of the character feels oddly fitting, considering her decade-long reign as pop’s most fearless oddball.
This eccentric declaration comes just before the launch of her Mayhem Ball tour, her latest artistic reinvention after a brief hiatus from the stage. The tour, set to begin in Tokyo and move through major cities in Europe and North America, has been billed as a return to Gaga’s electro-pop roots—with added theatrical spectacle, high-concept fashion, and unfiltered personality.
In recent weeks, Gaga has offered teasers about the show’s aesthetic, which she described in one interview as “if Ziggy Stardust, Björk, and a haunted dollhouse had a baby.” The Labubu reference seems to confirm that her vision includes elements of whimsy, chaos, and unexpected cultural mashups. Costumes teased online include oversized latex wings, towering platform shoes, LED veils, and now, apparently, Labubu ears.
The pre-tour video has quickly gone viral on TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), where fans have started calling themselves “Little Labubus”—a fresh twist on her longtime fanbase nickname, Little Monsters. Memes, mashups, and even unofficial Labubu x Gaga merchandise have begun circulating, with fan artists depicting the pop star as a monstrous plush creature in her iconic “Bad Romance” claw pose.
“She’s always found a way to connect with weirdos,” said pop culture analyst Juno Reyes. “By claiming she’s a Labubu, she’s essentially aligning herself with the strange and misunderstood. It’s both self-deprecating and empowering. Classic Gaga.”
Yet not everyone is clear on what exactly she meant by the statement. “What is a Labubu?” trended for several hours on search engines following the video drop. POP MART, the toy company behind the character, responded playfully with a tweet: “Lady Gaga is now one of us. Welcome to the forest.” The brand has since seen a spike in sales and searches for Labubu figurines, proving once again that anything Gaga touches tends to turn into cultural gold.
Though this isn’t the first time the star has toyed with identity—Gaga has famously declared herself a robot, an alien, and even a vampire in past eras—it does mark one of her most lighthearted transformations in years. After the high drama of her “Chromatica” album and the intense Oscar-winning turn in A Star Is Born, Gaga seems to be letting loose and embracing joyful absurdity.
That tone might be essential for the Mayhem Ball tour, which she has hinted will focus on emotional catharsis, queer joy, and post-pandemic freedom. “I want people to laugh, cry, dance, and feel like they’ve survived something with me,” she said in a behind-the-scenes clip posted last week. “The world’s been so heavy. Let’s be weird together.”
The backstage Labubu moment also reflects Gaga’s ongoing evolution as an artist who defies predictability. Whether she’s crooning jazz with Tony Bennett, advocating for mental health awareness, or dancing in a furry onesie while referencing an obscure toy character, her ability to blend sincerity with spectacle remains unmatched.
“Part of what makes Gaga endure is her emotional authenticity beneath all the theatrics,” said music critic Fiona Griggs. “Even when she’s being silly, there’s a message about being true to your freakish self. Labubu is just the latest symbol in that journey.”
While it’s unclear whether the Labubu motif will play a recurring role in the Mayhem Ball show itself, fans are already hoping for plush giveaways, themed merchandise, or even on-stage appearances by costumed Labubu dancers. A quick look at the tour’s official store reveals newly listed “Monster Mascot” t-shirts that bear more than a passing resemblance to the character, suggesting the team may be leaning into the meme.
Gaga herself seems amused by the reaction. She followed up the original video with another clip captioned, “You don’t choose the Labubu life. The Labubu life chooses you,” and laughed uncontrollably while twirling around in a cape made of synthetic moss.
The Mayhem Ball tour begins July 30 in Tokyo and will continue across 25 cities through December. If the “Labubu era” is anything to go by, fans can expect a mix of neon lights, avant-garde choreography, and delightful nonsense—everything that has defined Lady Gaga for over 15 years.
In the end, her declaration may be as profound as it is ridiculous. In a world obsessed with categorizing pop stars, Gaga remains gloriously uncategorizable. She is a voice, a spectacle, a movement—and now, at
least for the moment, a Labubu.
