Lady Gaga is opening up about a chapter early in her career where rumors spread she was a man — and why she never denied those claims. The Oscar and Grammy Award winner said she was intentional not to take the bait surrounding the scuttlebutt about her gender.

Lady Gaga was subject to speculation early in her career but despite being asked to address the topic a number of times in interviews, she refused to answer.

Lady Gaga appeared in the second episode of “What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates” and explained her decision not to speak out against the rumors that dominated headlines early in her career and claimed she was actually a man.