Lady Gaga says she won't meet Patrizia Reggiani and 'cares deeply' about House of Gucci impact

Lady Gaga tells ITV News Arts Editor Nina Nannar she acknowledges the movie must be 'painful' for Patrizia's daughters

House Of Gucci star Lady Gaga has told to ITV News she's unlikely to ever meet Patrizia Gucci, saying "I don't want to collude with" her.

The actress and singer plays Patrizia Gucci in Sir Ridley Scott’s crime drama, a socialite who had her fashion dynasty heir husband Maurizio Gucci murdered in a case that gripped Italy.

Speaking to ITV News' Arts Editor Nina Nannar, Gaga said: "I don't want to collude with Patrizia Gucci. I think she wants to drive a famous narrative of herself as a notorious killer and a woman who advised Gucci.

"I think what she did was wrong, I think she deeply regrets it."

'I don't want to collude with Patrizia Gucci' - Listen to Lady Gaga's interview in full on the Unscripted podcast

The star also spoke about the potential impact on the Gucci family of the new movie.

"If anything I extend my heart to her daughters," she said.

"They probably don't want that, but for what it's worth I do care deeply that this must be very painful for them and as an actress that's something I have to reckon with."

Patrizia Reggiani (her maiden name) told Italian media earlier in the year she was "annoyed" Gaga had not contacted her to meet her describing it as "a question of good sense and respect".

Gaga also opened up about the mental strain of taking on the role of Patrizia and how it's no easier for women in business now than it was in the 1970s and 80s.

The star told ITV News Arts Editor Nina Nannar she spoke in her Italian accent for six months before filming and then for the three and a half months on set, a dedication, she says, "started to play with my head later".

"What was challenging was feeling the real life symptoms of being Patrizia all the time, and what she went through.

"I had a lot of mental challenges while working on this film - because she did. She had a lot of mental challenges. Patrizia is somebody who is fighting for her life."

Gaga says of Patrizia, she was "a woman living in a man's world, and a woman who's very much an outsider."

Though the film focuses on the fashion house during the 1970s and 80s, the 35-year-old suspects little has changed in the way women in the business (and other industries) are treated.

"I think it happens all over the world all the time and I think that men are very comfortable working with other men because having to be held accountable to a woman creates discomfort so it's just easier to push women out."

An American Italian herself, aside from the six months accent preparation, Gaga says her own heritage helped form the role.

"Every day on set I was so aware that my feet were planted on the soil of the home of my ancestors and that they worked so hard so that my family could have a better life and look at me now. Look where we are."

In House Of Gucci, her first film role since her Oscar-nominated turn in 2018’s A Star Is Born, Gaga stars alongside Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons and Salma Hayek. So does she feel she still has something to prove on the big screen?

"To say I would need to 'prove myself' that doesn't feel accurate to me. What resonates with me is this idea of earning my place, or earning my spot. That feels accurate - doing more movies, more work, more research. I don't believe in trying to prove yourself that way."

Away from the glamour of showbiz, the star spoke to ITV News about emerging from the pandemic and moving forward with "kindness" as the only way to recover.

Working with global citizen and the World Health Organisation, Gaga joined other celebrities in helping to raise more than £1 million to help healthcare organisations globally.

"I pray all the time for the healing of healthcare workers, the trauma they have been through is immense and world changing," the star told Nina Nannar.

"The mental struggles that we've all gone through during Covid have been real.

"I can see the toll this has put on the world and I think it's a good time to lean into kindness, I think kindness is the really perfect system."

House Of Gucci will arrive in UK cinemas on November 26.

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