Lady Gaga Responds to Former Classmates Who Said She’d ‘Never Be Famous’

Lady Gaga recently responded to an old Facebook group created by some of her ex-classmates, who mocked her dreams of stardom several years ago.

Gaga briefly attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts before leaving in 2005 to pursue a music career. At the time, she had just started performing under her now-iconic stage name, and word of her performances spread quickly among her peers, leading to the creation of the Facebook group titled “Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous.”

Members of the group reportedly ridiculed her dreams of becoming famous, mocking her performances and aspirations.

Now, a TikTok post that has gone viral, screenshots of the now-deleted Facebook group were shown, followed by a list of Gaga’s numerous accolades, including her 13 Grammy wins, an Oscar, and a long list of other prestigious awards.

The “Die With a Smile” singer herself commented on the video, addressing the hate she experienced during her early years: “Some people I went to college [with] made this way back when. This is why you can’t give up when people doubt you or put you down—gotta keep going.”

Gaga’s journey to fame wasn’t an overnight success.

After leaving college, she began playing small gigs around New York City under the stage name Lady Gaga. Little did her classmates know, she’d go on to release The Fame just a few years later in 2008, with hits like “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” dominating the Billboard charts.

In 2016, one of her former classmates, Lauren Bohn, shared her memories of the Facebook group, recalling how the members would belittle Gaga’s ambitions and even trample on flyers for her shows.

“I also remember one dude posting a flyer for one of her upcoming gigs at a local village bar. He had clearly stomped on the flyer, an outline of his muddy [sole] struggling to eclipse her name,” Bohn wrote, praising Gaga for sticking to her dreams and breaking through despite the negativity.

Since those early days, Gaga has become one of the most decorated artists in the world. She’s won 13 Grammy Awards, including a Grammy for her A Star Is Born anthem “Shallow,” which also earned her an Oscar.

She’s landed five No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and multiple No. 1 albums, including Born This Way and Chromatica. Her latest track with Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile,” also scored the No. 1 spot on Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts.

And let’s not forget that she was also named Woman of the Year at Billboard Women in Music 2015.

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.