Prince William and Lady Gaga Open Up About Mental Illness

You wouldn’t think that Prince William and Lady Gaga have much in common, but you’d be wrong. Recently the pop star and the future king of England chatted over FaceTime about a subject that is incredibly important to both of them: mental illness.

Prince William, along with Prince Harry and Duchess Kate, launched the “Heads Together” campaign to raise awareness about mental illness. The effort also tries to address the stigma often attached to the topic. The Royals have spoken out extensively on the importance of seeking help. Most recently, Prince Harry opened up about the counseling that he sought years after his mother, Princess Diana, was killed. He was encouraged by his older brother to seek help.

Separately, Lady Gaga wrote an open letter released through her Born This Way Foundation. In it she revealed her struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

In the video, which was posted to the Royal Family Facebook Page, Gaga and William discussed the importance of speaking out about the topic so that more people understand that it is as “normal” to take care of one’s mental health as it is to care for physical health.

Prince William told Gaga, “I read your open letter you wrote and thought it was incredibly moving and very brave of you to write down such personal feelings.”

The pop star told the prince that “[speaking out] made me very nervous at first. For me, waking up every day and feeling sad and going on stage is … very hard to describe. There’s a lot of shame attached to mental illness. You feel like something is wrong with you.”

Wills went on to emphasize that people need to know that “[i]t’s OK to have this conversation. 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 going to lead to more problems down the line.”

Watch the entire FaceTime exchange: