Lady Gaga has dispelled rumours that she and Bradley Cooper are having a romantic relationship following their emotional performance at this year's Oscars.
During the ceremony, the duo performed the hit track "Shallow" from their film A Star is Born while in character, prompting fans to speculate as to whether their on-stage chemistry was real.
In the film, Gaga and Cooper play musicians Ally and Jackson Maine, who fall in love.
When asked about the rumours by American TV host Jimmy Kimmel on his namesake show on Wednesday, the singer rolled her eyes and denounced social media, where the rumours burgeoned, as “the toilet of the internet”.
“Yes, people saw love and that’s what we wanted you to see,” the 32-year-old said before insisting that “Shallow” is a “love song” and that she and Cooper “worked so hard” on expressing that in their Oscars performance.
She added that Cooper was the one who directed the performance and had insisted on specific lighting to convey the right mood.
“From a performance perspective, it was so important to both of us that we were connected the entire time,” Gaga continued.
The singer further dismissed rumours of a romance by using the example of legendary jazz singer Tony Bennett, with whom she has an ongoing musical partnership.
“I've had my arms wrapped around Tony Bennett for the three years touring the world,” she told Kimmel, “when you’re singing love songs, that’s what you want people to feel.
“I’m an artist, and I guess we did a good job,” she concluded in reference to her performance with Cooper. “Fooled ya!”
"Shallow" won in the Best Original Song category at numerous award ceremonies this year, including the Oscars, making Gaga the first woman in history to have won an Academy Award, Grammy, BAFTA and Golden Globe award in the same year.
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