Lady Gaga pays tribute to Zombie Boy following his death

Following the apparent suicide of model Rick Genest AKA Zombie Boy, Lady Gaga has taken to Twitter to pay her respects.

Reports suggest that Genest took his own life, a few days before his 33rd birthday. The model was open with his struggle with mental health problems, something he dealt with following the removal of a brain tumour aged 15.

Genest first found fame when Lady Gaga enlisted him to star in her “Born This Way” video, in which she appeared wearing full body paint that matched his own signature face and body skeleton tattoos. Following that, the model appeared in a number of editorials, a Mugler campaign (in the Nicola Formichetti era), and also on the cover of Dazed Korea’s December 2014 issue.

“We have to work harder to change the culture, bring Mental Health to the forefront and erase the stigma that we can’t talk about it,” said one of Gaga’s tweets about Genest’s tragic death. “If you are suffering, call a friend or family today. We must save each other.” Our thoughts are with his friends and family during this difficult time.