Here's Why Lady Gaga Is Skipping Out on Performing at the 2023 Oscars

The 2023 Oscars ceremony (airing this Sunday) is guaranteed to be a star-studded affair (hopefully with more moments like this) since a slew of A-listers like Austin Butler, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, and none other than Rihanna are up for awards. And while Ri confirmed that she will be performing during awards season's biggest night, one Best Original Song nominee will be sitting this one out: Lady Gaga.

2023 Oscars producer Glen Weiss confirmed that the Oscar-winning singer — who is nominated for her song "Hold My Hand" from Top Gun: Maverick — will not be performing at Sunday's ceremony. "We have a great relationship with Lady Gaga and her camp," he said during a press conference. Because Gaga is in the middle of filming her upcoming movie Joker: Folie à Deux, the highly anticipated sequel to the 2019 film Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix, "she is not going to perform on the show,” Weiss added.

According to Entertainment Tonight, the movie started production at the end of 2022. Gaga will star alongside Phoenix as a new version of Harley Quinn. If Lady Gaga's past commitment to her characters (father, son, and House of Gucci, anyone?) is any indication of how she'll approach this part, it makes sense that the method actress would sit out of taking the stage at the Academy Awards. It is unclear if the star will attend the awards show or ditch it completely.

Gaga's most memorable Oscars appearance came in 2019, when she took home the little golden man for her song "Shallow" in A Star is Born. Who could forget the iconic, titillating performance between Gaga and her co-star Bradley Cooper, which led to endless headlines and speculation of an on-screen romance.

Of course, the two actors eventually brushed off the rumors. Following the performance, Gaga appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and said, "Yes, people saw love and guess what? That’s what we wanted you to see. ["Shallow"] is a love song, A Star Is Born is a love story. It was so important to both of us that we were connected the entire time … When you’re singing love songs, that’s what you want people to feel."