The singer paid tribute to the star

Model Zombie Boy – real name Rick Genest – who starred in Lady Gaga‘s 2011 video for ‘Born This Way’ has died, aged 32.

Genest was found dead at his home in Montreal, Canada on Wednesday (August 1). His death is being reported as suicide.

Lady Gaga paid tribute to the model, posting a message to Twitter. “The suicide of friend Rick Genest, Zombie Boy is beyond devastating,” she wrote.

“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. If you’re suffering, call a friend or family today,” she added. “We must save each other.”

“Science tells us that it takes 21 days to form a habit, if you are suffering from Mental Health issue I beckon for today to be your first day or a continuation of the work you’ve been doing,” she later added. “Reach out if you’re in pain, and if you know someone who is, reach out to them too.”

You can see Zombie Boy star in Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ video below.

An Instagram post went up on Zombie Boy’s page yesterday (August 2), which was a photo of a dark background and a ring of light. It read:


“o Damballa

lo we howl upon stars hung above
we soul cast down the well of stone
as fire laid betwixt two fates
of most drear less dire straights
each breath cuts ice as flesh is weighed
in front of deaths old narrow gates
where bold and brazen last rites crate

lo heed our wish of madness
deep from os
our prayers we kissed
so stern and cold
on metal shells
release by moonlight glow — Zombie Boy”