Lady Gaga feels persecuted

The `Applause` hitmaker recently tweeted a Michael Jackson quote reading "the bigger the star, the bigger the target" but feels happy she hasn`t been brought down by people who are critical of her career.

When asked if she felt persecuted by The Guardian newspaper, she replied: "Yeah, for sure I do. Yes! I certainly feel that at this time it`s almost as if people are surprised they haven`t already destroyed me.

"It gives them a sense of pleasure when they believe that they`ve destroyed me or taken me down.

"It`s almost entertainment for people to poke fun at Lady Gaga."

Despite the criticism she has received - with detractors keen to point out how `Applause`, the first single from her new `ARTPOP` album - Gaga claims chart success isn`t a particular concern for her.

She added: "People focus less on the music and focus more on how the music`s doing; how it`s faring from a numbers perspective, from a financial perspective.

"If you think I give a damn about money then you don`t know me as an artist at all. I think that once you`ve had a few Number Ones in your career that you`ve kind of proven yourself and I don`t feel the need to prove anything anymore.

"[Detractors] have no idea what I put into this, they have no idea the work that I`ve put behind my performances and what I do. In fact, people have no idea what it really took for me to get here. It doesn`t bother me, it`s just an interesting observation of where we are as a society."

`ARTPOP` is released on November 11.

sections: Celebrities