Lady Gaga defends Miley Cyrus, explains her own nudity

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Lady Gaga visits the Elvis Duran Z100 Morning Show at Z100 Studio on Nov. 8, 2013, in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images)

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Lady Gaga attends the YouTube Music Awards 2013 on Nov. 3, 2013, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)

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Lady Gaga arrives for a presentation of her latest album, “Artpop,” at a fan event at the Berghain club in Berlin on Oct. 24, 2013. (Markus Schreiber / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga wears an extraordinary costume in Berlin on Oct. 24, 2013. (Ole Spata / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga speaks at the Daily Front Row’s Fashion Media Awards in New York City. (D Dipasupil / Getty Images)

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Lady Gaga wears a Prabal Gurung dress on the red carpet for the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at the Barclays Center on Aug. 25, 2013. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images for MTV)

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Lady Gaga performs during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at the Barclays Center on Aug. 25, 2013, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Rick Diamond / Getty Images for MTV)

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Lady Gaga talks with “The Morning Mashup Live” on SiriusXM Hits 1 at SiriusXM Studio on Aug. 19, 2013, in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for SiriusXM)

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Lady Gaga arrives at the Versace atelier in Milan, Italy, on Oct. 1, 2012. On Dec. 20, 2012, the singer announced that the Born Brave Bus Tour will tailgate outside her upcoming U.S. concerts and provide a space for 13- to 25-year-olds to learn more about local resources on anti-bullying, suicide prevention and mental health services. Her foundation focuses on youth empowerment and self-confidence. (Luca Bruno / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga spent Thanksgiving Day 2012 in Lima, Peru, with a group of 45 victims of sexual abuse. She held a concert in Lima as part of her Latin American tour and also gave food to the girls at the Caritas Felices (Happy Faces) Center. (RPP Noticias / EPA)

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Lady Gaga joins Mick Jagger, center, and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones on stage at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Dec. 15, 2012. (Evan Agostini / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga performs on the catwalk for the Philip Treacy show on Sept. 16, 2012, during London Fashion Week 2013 at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. (Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images)

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Lady Gaga arrives at Vilnius airport in Lithuania on Aug. 20, 2012, where she held a concert as part of her European tour. (Mindaugas Kulbis / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga at the 54th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 12, 2012, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. She was nominated for three Grammys but did not win in any of the categories. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Lady Gaga prepares to start the ball drop in New York City’s Times Square during the New Year’s Eve celebration on Dec. 31, 2011. (Charles Sykes / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga attends the “Lady Gaga x Terry Richardson” book launch party at the New Museum on Nov. 22, 2011, in New York City. (Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images)

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Lady Gaga performs at the MTV European Music Awards on Nov. 6, 2011, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Joel Ryan / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga shows a new two-tone hairstyle as she leaves her hotel and is besieged by screaming fans in Sydney, Australia, on July 12, 2011. She was in town to play a one-night show in Sydney’s Town Hall on July 13. (Dean Lewins / EPA)

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Lady Gaga attends a press conference in Taipei on July 4, 2011. She visited Taiwan for five days to promote her album “Born This Way.” (Chiang Yingying / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga performs at Radio 1’s Big Weekend 2011 at Carlisle Airport on May 15, 2011, in Carlisle, England. (Dave Hogan / Getty Images)

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Lady Gaga’s stylist Nicola Formichetti, Lady Gaga and Sebastian Peigne (the women’s designer for Thierry Mugler) walk the runway during the Thierry Mugler Ready to Wear Autumn/Winter 2011/2012 show during Paris Fashion Week on March 2, 2011, in Paris. Formichetti is at the helm of the newly revived Thierry Mugler brand. (Francois Durand / Getty Images)

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Lady Gaga emerges from her egg casing onstage during her performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 13, 2011. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Lady Gaga arrives enclosed in an egg at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 13, 2011, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

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Lady Gaga walks backstage wearing a dress made of meat after accepting the award for video of the year for “Bad Romance” at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 12, 2010. The dress has made its way to Washington along with other relics from music history and was displayed at the National Museum of Women in the Arts with an explanation of her political message. (Matt Sayles / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga accepts the award for best pop video for “Bad Romance” at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 12, 2010. (Matt Sayles / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 12, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. (Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images)

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Lady Gaga arrives at the Brit Awards 2010 at the Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre in London on Feb. 16, 2010. Her Brit Awards, the British equivalent of the Grammys, include international female solo artist, international breakthrough act and best international album for “The Fame.” (Alastair Grant / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga performs as part of Lollapalooza on Aug. 6, 2010, at Grant Park in Chicago. (Tim Mosenfelder / Getty Images)

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Lady Gaga performs during the Rainforest Fund’s 21st Birthday Celebration benefit concert at Carnegie Hall in New York on May 13, 2010. (Jason DeCrow / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga performs at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 31, 2010. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Lady Gaga in the photo room at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 31, 2010. She took home two Grammys that night for best dance recording (“Poker Face”) and best electronic/dance album (“The Fame”). (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Lady Gaga on the red carpet for the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 31, 2010. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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Lady Gaga performs at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s 30th anniversary gala in Los Angeles on Nov. 14, 2009. (Dan Steinberg / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga performs in Boston on Dec. 2, 2009, the night she received five Grammy nominations. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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Lady Gaga strikes a pose at a press conference announcing Heartbeats by Lady Gaga, the latest addition to the Beats by Dr. Dre family of headphones, in New York on Sept. 30, 2009. (Peter Kramer / Associated Press)

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Lady Gaga performs at the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, in Glastonbury, Britain. (Jonathan Brady / EPA)

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Lady Gaga, photographed in Boston in 2009. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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Lady Gaga, at the MTV Studios in New York City in 2008, confirmed on Twitter she is collaborating with Tony Bennett on a jazz album. (Peter Kramer / Associated Press)

By Nardine Saad

Sept. 12, 2013 12:20 PM PT

Lady Gaga has come to Miley Cyrus’ defense.

And here you thought Cyrus would no longer dominate the news cycle.

Eclectic pop diva Gaga joined Bravo heavyweight Andy Cohen on “Watch What Happens Live” on Wednesday for an “extravaGaganza” in which the “Applause” singer weighed in on Cyrus’ shock-inducing VMA performance last month.

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“I mean, I just think everybody needs to lighten up and leave her alone,” Gaga said. “Because it’s pop music. Everybody’s entitled to their own artistic expression, and if you have a problem with it, just change the channel.”

This coming from a woman clad in a bedazzled seashell bustier and weave of voluminous ringlets embellished by a starfish. The 27-year-old has a history of being the award-show talking point thanks to her own zany getups. (She said she’ll always “have a soft spot” in her heart for the meat dress she wore to the 2010 VMAs.)

But Gaga railed against the Disney alum’s haters and applauded her self-expression.

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“I don’t understand the incessant need to constantly go on and on about hating things all the time because, what, she’s 20 years old? And if anything, I give her props. You know, she’s growing up in front of the entire world and maybe she’s not so happy with stuff she did in her career when she was younger and she wants to be free, so let her do what she wants.”

We’re looking at you, “Hannah Montana.”

Speaking of doing what you want, Gaga called out the audience members who let loose when British boy band One Direction clinched the song of the summer award and were met with resounding boos. (She later told the boys they deserved every bit of success they had.)

“I was completely embarrassed for MTV and for America during that award show,” she told Cohen. “Because if I was in the UK and I had won, there is no way that anybody would have booed because it’s so impolite. Keep your ... feelings to yourself and politely clap and smile and then go be a normal person and talk about me behind my back!”

And here’s what she had to say about twerking: “I think that people need to stop putting the letter T in front of the word ‘work.’”

Gaga, who underwent hip surgery earlier this year, is doing the rounds to promote her upcoming album, “Artpop,” which is set for Nov. 11 release. The album will bear Mother Monster in the nude, which brings us to her stripping down for V Magazine’s September issue. The issue features four different Gaga covers with 16 pages of nude photos. The singer spoke candidly with Cohen on “WWHL: After Show” about why she decided to trade her theatrical outfits for the buff.

“I don’t find it particularly shocking in the scope of the artistic world,” the pop star said of her nudity. “I understand maybe because I’m a public figure it may be considered [shocking] because it’s nudity. In Europe, nudity is not nearly as conservative as it is in America.

PHOTOS: Lady Gaga through the years

“I’m really proud of myself that I could take my clothes off and take my makeup off and just be there, because since I was 11 years old I didn’t feel like I could. And you have seen me put on lots of wigs and lots of outfits and lots of theater because I was unable to do that,” she added. “With ‘Artpop’ I took it all off and I challenged myself to be able to transform in a minimal way. I hope that you can see the nuance in the transformation in the nudity between the different looks that I did on the four different covers.

“It was emotionally really taxing because I had to look myself in the mirror with no makeup on. I mean, how ... easy is that for you. It’s still not easy for me. ... I needed to do that for me. I needed to know that I was willing to risk it all for art ... for fashion ... to prove to myself once and for all that I could look myself in the mirror and be proud of who I am.”

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