Lady Gaga cries recounting the dark side of fame during interview

'As soon as I go out into the world, I belong, in a way, to everyone else. It’s legal to follow me. It’s legal to stalk me at the beach. And I can’t call the police or ask them to leave,' singer says

Lady Gaga has become visibly emotional recounting the price of the extreme levels of fame she has amassed over her career.

Gaga burst onto the music scene in 2008 and instantly became a source of fascination. From her eye-catching and headline-grabbing outfits – including meat dresses and Alexander McQueen armadillo boots – to her boundary-pushing music videos and live performances (including one where she created the illusion of bleeding on stage) her fans and the media waited intently for her next move.

The larger-than-life identity she created for herself served to fuel her career and earn her an adoring fanbase affectionally dubbed the monsters. However, it also placed her in a superstar realm disjointed from reality meaning people sometimes did not view her as a real person

In recent years she has dialled down on the extravagant antics and she has now shown her vulnerabilities in an interview which aired on Sunday where she spoke about missing her privacy as well as the ordinary, daily interactions which non-famous people take for granted.

“I’m very acutely aware that once I cross that property line I’m not free anymore,” she told CBS. “As soon as I go out into the world, I belong, in a way, to everyone else. It’s legal to follow me. It’s legal to stalk me at the beach. And I can’t call the police or ask them to leave.

“I took a long hard look at that property line and I said, ‘Well, if I can’t be free out there, I can be free in here,” she said pointing to her chest.

When journalist Lee Cowan suggested her new album Joanne is about doing what she wants to do not other people and asked if it was discussing the "weight" of fame which was making her emotional, the 30-year-old started crying.

“I miss people,” she said tearfully. “I miss going anywhere and meeting a random person and saying 'hi' and having a conversation about life. I love people.”

In June, the “Bad Romance” singer told Variety she could not think of “a single thing more isolating than being famous”.