The star of Netflix's "Thirteen Reasons Why" made her "Tonight Show" debut on last night's episode and addressed the controversy surrounding her show, especially the topic of suicide. In addition, viewers also got a sneak peek into that #Lady Gaga tweet and some backstory as to the artist's influence on Langford growing up.
Lady Gaga's tweet to Katherine
Like many of Katherine's followers, Gaga is also a strong advocate of bringing awareness to mental health issues, including suicide and depression.
Her song "Til it Happens To You" and most recently, "The Cure" have all been successful attempts at inspiring fans and empowering those that suffer with mental illness. However, there's one song in particular that inspired Katherine Langford, which she was happy to tell Fallon all about on his show last night.
The actress stated that while attending her first Lady Gaga concert at the age of sixteen, she was moved by the artist's performance of "Lady Die," a song about Princess Diana and the struggles that are associated with fame and celebrity. Katherine explained how impressed she was with the ballad (including the piano parts which were played by Gaga herself).
Langford described that performance as moving her to tears, and admitted to Fallon that she immediately started learning the song on the piano shortly after, with the help of YouTube videos. And once word got around that Lady Gaga was her favorite artist, fans began tweeting Gaga, with the hope that she would respond. And she did. Although the "Thirteen Reasons Why" star doesn't have a Twitter account, she found out the good news via her publicist one day on set and did what many of us would do: freak out and post about it on social media.
Addressing the controversy
Although Katherine Langford and "Thirteen Reasons Why" author Jay Asher have claimed that the show is exactly what young people need, there are still viewers who find some of the content unsatisfactory.
Langford's response was unexpected, as she admitted that the show does go to extreme measures to address these issues and events leading up to the main character's suicide. However, she still finds it essential in telling Asher's story. The actress then extended this idea by stating that although she feels responsible as a young adult to shed light on mental health issues, there are many triggers in the episodes (including tapes 5 and 9), which she warns fans about.
Langford also discussed the fact that although most of the content can be graphic, the producers and writers thought it best to keep those scenes and include a "Beyond The Reasons" packet as an additional resource. She advised viewers that the packet can be found on Netflix and is easily accessible when searching for the show on the digital streaming site.
She claimed that the packet contains specifics on trigger warnings in that they should be taken seriously, especially at various points of the season. And as of recently, Netflix has been working to assure that viewers will have the trigger warnings shown before each episode for a safer viewing experience.
The episode of "The Tonight Show" also gave viewers important information regarding the external feature as well as her role on social media. Langford brought Fallon's attention to her Instagram account and the fact that she incorporated the link to the National Suicide Prevention Line to further assist viewers and anyone looking for help that is suffering from depression or thoughts of suicide.