Lady Gaga Covers 'Elle' October 2013

Lady Gaga is up close and personal on the cover of Elle magazine’s October 2013 issue, on newsstands September 24.

Here’s what the 27-year-old entertainer had to share with the mag:

On handling pressure: “What are you talking about pressure? I’m great under pressure. I’m a warrior. I’m Rocky, round 12.”

On her public vs. private self: “I am – Stefani is – a perpetually tortured artist. That’s why I changed my name. I can’t be her in public. She would be a mess!”

On firing back at her critics: “Everyone is so cynical – that I can’t purely love my fans, or share an honest story about my past, without someone asking me if I really, truly struggled. Do you know how much dirt I ate? Do you know the men I had to crawl through, the people that disrespected my body, my mind, my heart?”

For more from Gaga, visit Elle.com.