Lady Gaga, 35, got choked up after she walked Tony Bennett, 95, offstage during his final performance before retirement on August 12. The moment Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, spoke to the iconic crooner backstage was filmed as part of 60 Minutes profile on Tony, which aired on Sunday October 3. Gaga was crying, as she complimented the legendary singer on his performance. “You were so amazing,” she said. Tony, who has been diagnosed with Alzheimers, sounded pleased with how the show went. “The public loved it,” he said. Gaga agreed and offered another compliment. “You were spectacular,” she said.
At the end of Tony Bennett’s performance at Radio City Music Hall, Lady Gaga escorted him off the stage one last time. “Just simply being the woman that got to walk him off stage, that's enough for me,” says Lady Gaga. https://t.co/s33c5rWpCD pic.twitter.com/ORA8joMKDe
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 4, 2021
In an interview after the fact, Gaga spoke about how she was happy to get to help Tony offstage one last time. “The last thing that I said to Tony onstage was ‘Mr. Bennett, it would be my honor if I could escort you off the stage,’ and he said, ‘Okay,’ and I did. Just simply being the woman that got to walk him offstage, that’s enough for me,” she told interview Anderson Cooper.
During the final concert, Lady Gaga sang alongside Tony. She performed first, before Tony took the stage on his own. She joined him later in the night, according to Setlist.fm. The moment Gaga re-emerged onstage and Tony announced her, the Chromatica singer said it was an emotional moment. “That’s the first time that Tony said my name in a long time,” she said. “I had to keep it together, because we had a sold out show, and I have a job to do, but I’ll tell you, when I walked out on that stage, and he said, ‘It’s Lady Gaga,’ my friend saw me, and it was very special.”
I’ve seen this woman winning at the Oscars, winning at the Grammys, selling out stadiums, getting #1 albums and songs. Not once she has looked as happy as she looks while Tony Bennett remembers and shouts out her name. Not once. pic.twitter.com/Hi5CpcLwmD
— Monster Reactions (@LMonsterReacts) October 4, 2021
Throughout the 60 Minutes interview, Gaga and Tony’s other longtime collaborators explained that even though the singer has been suffering from Alzheimer’s, he’s still been able to perform and sing many of his classic songs from memory. “When that music comes on, something happens to him. He knows exactly what he’s doing,” Gaga said.
Amid Tony’s battle with Alzheimer’s, he still managed to record a new album of songs with Gaga. Their latest album Love For Sale was released on September 30. After the show, Gaga mentioned that she felt Tony’s story was a way of showing how even during a difficult illness, some things are left unchanged. “No, it’s not a sad story. It’s emotional. It’s hard to watch somebody change. I think what’s been beautiful about this, and what’s been challenging is to see how it affects him in some ways but to see how it doesn’t affect his talent. I think he really pushed through something to really give the world the gift of knowing that things can change, and you can still be magnificent,” she said.