‘Broad City’ stars reveal what Lady Gaga told them after using her song

Lady Gaga once caught Broad City stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson on the edge of glory after the comedic duo used, well, Gaga’s 2011 hit “The Edge of Glory” in a 2015 episode of the former Comedy Central series.

The actresses recently joined Broad City executive producer Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast to reflect on their favorite guest stars on the show, which ran for five seasons between 2014 and 2019.

Amid relishing in the memory of guest spots by Kelly Ripa, RuPaul, Shania Twain, and Whoopi Goldberg, the pair spoke about how the sitcom led to meeting Gaga outside of a New York City concert during her Joanne album era.

Jacobson recalled that she and Glazer “were in the writers room” when Gaga tweeted her excitement over the show including “Edge of Glory” in a 2015 episode that saw Jacobson’s character dancing to the song without clothes on.

“We met her, she invited us to a performance, and we went on her bus,” Glazer added. “It was right outside the performance, and she was so kind, being like, ‘When I watch your show, I feel like I’m not famous and I’m young again, running around the city before all of this.'”

Glazer added that Gaga “was clearly grateful for” the fame and career she built, “but it was also clearly quite heavy” for the pop star at the time — which is evident, as Gaga has long worked lyrics about the trappings of fame into her music throughout her career.

“It was so many years ago, it was before. Now she’s such a woman in control,” Glazer continued.

Jacobson also said that they were able to secure time with Gaga because “someone involved like the show, someone’s manager or something,” which led to the meeting on Gaga’s bus.

In January 2015, the Mayhem singer-songwriter and upcoming Wednesday season 2 star shared to Twitter (now X) an excited reaction to the Broad City scene.

“Ok Abbi dancing to ‘The Edge of Glory’ naked on my favorite show @broadcity is the greatest thing that’s ever happened,” Gaga posted.

Glazer also previously shared an Instagram image of herself and Jacobson on Gaga’s tour bus with Joanne producer Mark Ronson, with Glazer captioning the post with “lol im wild,” as the image showed her straddling the entertainer from behind.

Later, in a 2021 ad campaign for Valentino Beauty’s Voce Viva fragrance, fans pointed out that Gaga’s makeup look was strikingly similar to a comedically applied face of paint on Jacobson’s face from a prior episode of Broad City.

The episode, titled “Wisdom Teeth,” sees the character of Abbi under the care of Ilana, while recovering from oral surgery and the effects of psychedelic sedative drugs, Vicodin, and weed.

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Abbi’s struggle with the cocktail sends her on a trippy journey through New York City, leading to the hilarious makeup on her face. Fans pointed out the similarities between Gaga’s makeup (outlined lips, turquoise eyeshadow, thick brows), hair (pigtails for both), and even their clothing (matching tops) as indicators that Gaga paid tribute to Broad City with the look.

Watch Glazer and Jacobson discuss Gaga with Poehler in the podcast clip above.