Did Lady Gaga Just Lose 300K Fans Over Pfizer Ad?!

Dr. Adrian Wong

1 year ago

Did Lady Gaga lose 300,000 fans after she promoted Nurtec – a Pfizer drug that treats migraine?!

Take a look at the viral claims, and find out what the facts really are!

Claim : Lady Gaga Loses 300K Fans Over Pfizer Ad!

People are claiming that Lady Gaga is being severely criticised by her fans for promoting Nurtec – a Pfizer migraine drug, so much so that she lost 300,000 fans!

@sourbenji : Lady Gaga has lost over 300,000 followers since her Nurtec ad 🙁

@theladygucci : gaga has lost over 300k followers since the ibuprofen collab

@Key2Eternity : Lady Gaga Becomes Face of New Pfizer Migraine Drug in Cringe Big Pharma Commercial: Singer who said “I Hate Money” in 2011 allegedly loses tens of thousands of fans after endorsing Company that paid the Highest Fine in History for Fraud.

Truth : Lady Gaga Not Lose 300K Fans Over Pfizer Ad!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created and propagated on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : Lady Gaga Was Upfront About Pfizer Partnership

Lady Gaga (born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta on March 28, 1986) recently posted a photo from the Chromatica Ball Tour last year, with a prominent Nurtec ODT (rimegepant) logo at the top right corner.

The June 13 Instagram carousel post included her personal testimony on Nurtec’s efficacy, followed by official Pfizer safety information on its Nurtec migraine drug:

Ever since childhood, I’ve dealt with migraine pain. When I tried Nurtec® ODT (rimegepant) 75 mg for the first time, I’ll never forget wishing I had found it sooner. That’s why I’m proud to partner with Nurtec ODT. 💜 We’re in this together. If you’re ready to speak to a doctor, ask about Nurtec ODT today. #MHAM

Lady Gaga, or her team, clearly labelled the Instagram post as a “[p]aid partnership with nurtecodt“, with the hashtags #pfizersponsored #nurtecodtpartner and #ad.

https://youtu.be/rEsb3pAyGlk

Fact #2 : Product Information + Disclaimers Are Necessary

Under her personal post, she included the official Pfizer product information and disclaimers:

Individual results may vary. Prescription only.

Nurtec ODT is for the acute treatment of migraine and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. Select Safety Information: Do not take if allergic to Nurtec ODT. Allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. Allergic reactions include trouble breathing, rash, and swelling of the face, mouth, tongue, or throat. Most common side effects were nausea (2.7%) and indigestion/stomach pain (2.4%). See full Approved Uses and Important Safety Information included in the image carousel.

While some people are criticising Lady Gaga for posting that information, and two Nurtec slides in the Instagram carousel post, they are necessary for a sponsored post for a drug.

It is important for sponsored posts promoting any kind of medication to include basic product and safety information, so people understand the proper use cases and potential side effects.

You should be more worried about social media posts on drugs that lack such product and safety information!

Fact #3 : 300K Fans = 0.5% Of Her Followers!

I should point out that Lady Gaga had over 55.25 million followers on Instagram, on the day she posted the Pfizer Nurtec advertisement.

Even if Lady Gaga actually lost 300,000 followers on her Instagram account, it would only represent 0.54% of her total number of followers!

That would be a noteworthy dip no doubt, but it would not matter, because it also means that over 99.4% of her fans are not concerned enough unfollow her!

Fact #4 : Lady Gaga Actually Gained 33.9K Fans!

While people are claiming that Lady Gaga lost tens of thousands… or 300,000 fans / followers on her Instagram account, they offered zero evidence to back up those claims.

Instead of losing 300,000 fans, Lady Gaga actually gained 33.9K new fans in the 6 days following her Instagram post promoting the Pfizer Nurtec migraine drug.

As you can see from these stats of her Instagram account, Lady Gaga has consistently brought in thousands of additional followers every single day since that she posted the Nurtec advertisement.

Sure, some of her fans are calling her a sellout. But it is unknown if these unhappy Little Monsters actually unfollowed her because of that post. If she lost any fans over that post, they do not appear to be numerous enough to cause her total follower count to drop!

Fact #5 : Pfizer Was Upfront About Lady Gaga Partnership

Pfizer is no stranger to criticism, partly due to its chequered history, and partly because it’s a popular bogeyman for conspiracy theorists and anti-vaccination activists.

Hence, Pfizer was similarly upfront about its partnership with Lady Gaga in promoting Nurtec. Of course, Pfizer labelled it as its effort to raise awareness about migraine:

June is Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, and in keeping with this year’s theme, “Educate Yourself, Educate Others,” Pfizer is partnering with Lady Gaga to raise awareness of this often-misunderstood disease.

Affecting about 40 million people in the United States and one billion people globally, migraine is a debilitating and recurrent neurological disease. In fact, according to one study, migraine is considered the second-most disabling condition in the world, following low back pain.

An Academy Award, Golden Globe® Award, and 13-time Grammy® Award-winning actress and philanthropist, Lady Gaga was diagnosed with migraine when she was 14 years old, and it has had a profound impact on her life.

“Lady Gaga’s story is a powerful reminder of how significantly migraine affects the lives of so many people,” says Angela Lukin, Global Primary Care and U.S. President, Pfizer. “We believe that this collaboration will help raise awareness of this often ‘silent’ disease and inspire those living with migraine to have conversations with their healthcare providers about the best way to manage their condition.”

By showcasing Lady Gaga’s experience, Pfizer hopes to help people better understand the effect migraine can have on their lives and to show people living with the disease that they are not alone.

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Regardless of what one may think of Pfizer or Lady Gaga, they were both transparent about the promotional / sponsored post, and partnership.

Fact #6 : This Is Just Fake Celebrity News

This is yet another example of fake celebrity news circulating on social media, just like these examples:

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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