GODSMACK's Sully Erna once dated LADY GAGA | Revolver

GODSMACK's Sully Erna once dated LADY GAGA

Drummer Shannon Larkin confirms rocker and pop star had "a brief thing"
godsmack 2019 GETTY , Frank Hoensch/Redferns
photograph by Frank Hoensch/Redferns

Godsmack frontman Sully Erna apparently dated mega-popstar Lady Gaga. At least according to Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin, who confirmed on a new episode of the 2020'd podcast that his bandmate had "a brief thing" with the singer of such hits as "Bad Romance" and "Just Dance."

When Larkin was asked directly if Erna and Gaga had previously shared a romantic relationship, Larkin didn't beat around the bush: "Yeah, that's true," he said, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. "And that's not, I don't think, a secret. I don't think Sully would bum out if people knew he dated Lady Gaga. I mean, she's hot, and she's mega talented."

However, Larkin said that Erna never publicly disclosed the details of the relationship because he's not the type of guy who gets showy about whoever he happens to be dating. "He's not Tommy Lee or whatever, or whoever the guy is now," Larkin said. "What I mean by that is — Travis Barker, Tommy Lee, whatever — is dudes that have public girlfriends that are super famous, too. But they're different than Sully. Sully's an East Coast guy. He's like me, Tony [Rombola, Godsmack guitarist] and Robbie [Merrill, Godsmack bassist] — we're East Coast dudes.

"L.A. bands and West Coast dudes, they're flashier, maybe, and they're rock stars and there's more David Lee Roth than — I don't know — Eddie Vedder," Larkin continued. "You know what I mean? We're more Eddie Vedder, even though we're East Coast. We're probably even flashier than Eddie. He'll show up in an army jacket. You don't even recognize him. 'Oh my God. That's Eddie Vedder.' So we're in between them and the dudes with the flashy girls on their arms.

"So, did he date her? Yeah. But did he ever tell anyone? No — except for his friends and us. The band, we knew ... It was a brief thing, by the way."

It's always a little bit surprising when someone from the heavy-music world links up with a mainstream figure of Gaga's stature, but this one isn't completely out of the blue. Back in 2019, Erna revealed that the 2018 ballad, "Under Your Scars," was inspired by Gaga, who he credited with teaching him some valuable life lessons "in the short amount of time we hung out."

"['Under Your Scars'] came to me shortly after I had spent some quality time with someone who I consider a dear friend, and have grown to admire and respect as one of the smartest and most talented artists today, Stefani Germanotta, who most of you may know as Lady Gaga," Erna said in a statement at the time.