Lady Gaga debuted her latest single, “The Cure,” on April 15 at Coachella when she took the place of pregnant Beyoncé. The song was released online shortly afterwards and immediately topped the iTunes charts.

An advocate for mental health awareness, Lady Gaga recently collaborated with Prince William on a FaceTime call in which they discussed the gravity of suffering from mental illness. The video was an addition to the Royal Family’s “OK to Say” series that features various people speaking about their personal mental health and the challenges they have faced.

'The Cure': helping people through struggles with disability, or glorification of normalcy?

Lady Gaga has been working to spread awareness about mental health challenges, and she is likely trying to further her advocacy through her newest single. Her message, though, may have gone off track.

Gaga sings repeatedly, “If I can’t find the cure, I will fix you with my love.” Here, she means to convey that even if she can’t find an immediate medical cure to help someone, she will still do everything she can to “heal” them – probably in reference to their emotions – by giving them her love. So far, so good.

She goes on to sing, “And if you say you’re okay, I’m gonna heal you anyway.” Gaga may have intended to reference the fact that often people who are struggling with mental health don’t speak up and ask for help, so she will be the savior to step in and get them the help they need.

What she’s really saying, however, is that even if a person with a Disability says they are okay being themselves and is okay given their mental or physical state, she as a normal, healthy, more able person will intervene and heal them, because in reality they are not okay. She is implying that a person with a disability is never okay, even if they say they are, so they need an able person to fix them.

She will “heal [them] anyway.”

Fans of the song seem to appreciate Gaga’s intended message

Social media users took the internet to share their love of the song and their need for Gaga’s cure.

The true message of the song, however, cannot be ignored.

While the song is celebrated by those who have mental health challenges and extract purely the intended meaning of the song, those who suffer from other disabilities can easily be made to feel less-than-worthy because of the poorly written lyrics.

Lady Gaga’s intentions for “The Cure” are most likely to spread love and healing, not to glorify normalcy and able-bodied, healthy people. Regardless, her lyrics send the wrong message.
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