Lady Gaga, Prince William Discuss Mental Illness on Facebook Live for #OKtoSay
It’s not every day you get a call from the Royal Family, but on Tuesday, Prince William – the Duke of Cambridge – FaceTimed with Lady Gaga for an important cause.
Moved by Lady Gaga’s open letter about living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Prince William reached out to the singer to discuss mental illness and stigma as part of the Royal Family’s Heads Together video campaign. The video series, #Oktosay, features people from all different walks of life discussing how mental illness has affected their lives.
“For me, waking up every day and feeling sad and going on stage is something that is very hard to describe. There’s a lot of shame attached to mental illness. You feel like something’s wrong with you,” Gaga told Prince William from her kitchen in Los Angeles. “And in my life, I go ‘Oh my goodness, look at all of these beautiful, wonderful things that I have. I should be so happy,’ but you can’t help that if in the morning when you wake up: You are so tired, you are so sad, you are so full of anxiety and the shakes, that you can barely think.”
“It’s OK to have this conversation,” Prince William replied from his study in Kensington, U.K. “It’s really important to have this conversation. You won’t be judged. It’s so important to break open that fear and that taboo which is only gonna lead to more problems down the line.”
The video, which has been viewed more than 600,000 times in seven hours, follows an interview, Monday, in which Prince Harry revealed he sought counseling four years ago for grief related to his mother, Princess Diana’s, passing.
The two ended the conversation with a promise to keep discussing mental health issues, especially mental illness among young adults. The pair will meet in the U.K. to discuss future collaborations in October.
“It’s time that everyone speaks up, and really feels very normal about mental health,” the prince added. “It’s the same as physical health. Everyone has mental health, and we shouldn’t be ashamed of it.”
Jordan Davidson is The Mighty's Managing Editor. Follow her on twitter @JA_Davids or email her at jordan@themighty.com.
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