Lady GaGa has branded an interviewer's suggestion that her single 'Born This Way' is a rip-off of Madonna's 1989 hit 'Express Yourself' as "retarded".In an interview with NME, the musician briskly responded to a question about the melodic resemblance between the two songs."I'm a songwriter. I've written loads of music," GaGa asserted. "Why would I try to put out a song and think I'm getting one over on everybody? That's retarded."She continued: "What a completely ridiculous thing to even question me about… If you put the songs next to each other, side by side, the only similarities are the chord progression. "It's the same one that's been in disco music for the last 50 years. Just because I'm the first f**king artist in 25 years to think of putting it on Top 40 radio, it doesn't mean I'm a plagiarist, it means that I'm f**king smart. Sorry!"The star went on to profess that 'Born This Way' was divinely inspired, remarking: "I feel like, honestly, God sent me those lyrics and that melody... There's no way for something that pure to be wrong."GaGa previously responded to criticism of the track by telling Tonight Show host Jay Leno that she'd received a supportive e-mail from Madonna and her representatives."I am the hugest fan personally and professionally, and the good news is I got an email from her people and her sending me love and complete support," GaGa claimed at the time.
