For all of her absurdity and ability to take herself a bit too seriously sometimes, Gaga is articulate and fairly intelligent, which makes me like her a lot more. I don't love her, but at least she's a departure from the run of the mill. I don't care about her "authenticity." You've got to start somewhere. Nobody exists in a vacuum. I've never understood why people's influences are used against them. No one accuses Stevie of being a copycat because she appropriated some random chick's look.
And to offset taking herself too seriously, she sometimes tells people to suck her hermie dick, so.
I also don't think she's hideous, but that's just from Italian schnozz to another.