Weird Al Parodies Lady Gaga's "Born This Way"

The master of pop-music parodies, "Weird Al" Yankovic, has posted his "Gaga saga" blog which details his attempt to get permission from Lady Gaga to parody her hit song "Born This Way", getting rejected, and still releasing the song on YouTube as per the video below.

Over his three-decade-long career, Weird Al has almost always received permission by the artists to make light-hearted fun of their songs, but it seems like Lady Gaga did not like what she heard.

Yankovic is coming out with a new album and was looking for that one "big idea" that he could turn into a single and video. He was aware of "Born This Way" and thought that it could be the elusive single but once he heard it he wasn't sure it would be the right song since it's such an earnest human rights anthem and he didn't want to offend anyone. But when the idea formed in his head weeks later, he thought it would be perfect and would likely not offend anyone, and in case it did, he was going to donate all proceeds from sales to the Human Rights Campaign.

Yankovic details the process of contacting his record label, and then trying to get the approval to use the parody, which included contacting Gaga's manager with the following:

“I’d like to do a parody of Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ called ‘I Perform This Way.’ The basic concept is that I, as a Lady Gaga doppelganger of sorts, describe the incredibly extravagant ways in which I perform on stage. Meat dresses and giant eggs would most likely be referenced, but also much more ridiculous made-up examples of bizarre wardrobe and stage production. As with all my parodies, it would be respectful of the artist, while having a bit of fun with her larger-than-life image.”

Gaga's representatives responded that they would need to hear the song before they could approve it so he cancaled his family vacation following his Australian tour in order to work on the song. He submited it on April 11th and was rejected.

Mr. Yankovic does note in his blog that all his song parodies are legally permitted under fair-use interpretations of the law, but it is his personal policy to get the concent of the artist, and he will respect Gaga's wishes.

Below is the song on YouTube: