On Sunday, February 5th, the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons competed in the biggest, most hyped up sporting event, the Superbowl. Yet all anyone could talk about was Lady Gaga’s halftime performance. No, Gaga’s killer vocals or insane dance moves were not mentioned. Instead, people seemed too focused on her outfit and body, claiming that she “looked fat” or “had a little bit of chub.” The dazzling performance was overshadowed by a piece of skin and a low cut costume. Seriously, why is body shaming still a thing?

Trolls, mostly middle-aged men with nothing better to do with their lives, took to Twitter and spoke their minds about Gaga’s body- a topic that is not theirs to discuss in the first place!

Some of my personal favorite tweets were “Lady Gaga needs to do some crunches if she wants to show her flabby belly,” and “Tried to enjoy @ladygaga’s performance, was distracted by the flab on her stomach swinging around #SuperBowl,” which was written by a man named Nathan, who in my personal opinion should look in a mirror before judging a girl based on her appearance. But the winner of the Tweet off was definitely this one- “Was waiting for a surprise guest but just got Lady Gaga’s gut.” When I read these tweets, Gaga’s stellar performance, perfect vocals, and beautiful piano skills were suddenly undermined.

Lady Gaga, however, was looking forward to her halftime performance and felt comfortable in her costume.She purposely sang her hit songs like “Born This Way” and “Million Reasons” to try and connect with the audience and her supportive fans. “I have an opportunity with this performance to show a different part of this country that those who think that they are so different from me and my fans — to see that our hearts are really the same,” says Gaga, “who truly believes that is it all about the music and the quality of the performance.”

Gaga has had a long history of alcohol and drug abuse. Due to the substance abuse, her weight would fluctuate constantly. She is now feeling positive and taking care of her body, and showed this by Instagramming a picture of her working out saying she was preparing for her Super Bowl performance. The body-shaming comments have clearly not gotten to her, and she is a role model to her fans that struggle with body issues. Lady Gaga is so much more than the extra skin on her stomach, no matter what the haters say. Slay Gaga!