American Horror Story season 7 not bringing Lady Gaga back, after all

Despite a story in Vogue that made it appear that Lady Gaga was returning to American Horror Story, it looks like season 7 will be going on without her.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Gaga won’t be turning up in season 7, which marks this the first time since season 4 that she is not featured in some capacity. The “Perfect Illusion” singer had a major role as the Countess in American Horror Story: Hotel (season 5) before going on to be featured briefly in American Horror Story: Roanoke (season 6). She seemed to form a great relationship with co-creator Ryan Murphy, which was enough to offer up some further hope that she would continue to be a part of the show for some time to come.

Alas, one of the big reasons for her absence this time around could be her own busy schedule. Gaga has a major concert tour starting later this summer, and that may mean that she’s in the process of going through extensive rehearsals. We also wonder if the American Horror Story franchise is continuing to try and scale things back somewhat when it comes to using massive casts. Hotel was a peak of excess for the show, where there were dozens of familiar faces crammed into a very small amount of story. There was simply far too much going on by the end of it, and nobody really had the time to tell a story that was both interesting and also coherent.

Even though Gaga is not appearing on season 7, don’t take this as any sort of definite sign that the singer / actress is gone from the franchise forever. Also, remember that there are other opportunities out there for her to appear on other Murphy shows. There were rumors that she could play Donatella Versace on The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, but that role ultimately went to Penelope Cruz and it never actually was confirmed that Gaga was in discussions for the part in the first place.

Are you bummed that Gaga is not a part of American Horror Story this summer? Share in the comments! Season 7 is apparently themed around the Presidential election, and will air later this year.

Meanwhile, head over to the link here in the event you want some other news right now when it comes to American Horror Story right now. (Photo: FX.)