Lady Gaga's "Rain on Me" Music Video Appears to Include a Bayonetta Homage

Does the music video for Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande's latest single, "Rain on Me", include a direct homage to the video game franchise Bayonetta? The music video, which released this past weekend, has a largely cyberpunk-tinged aesthetic to it, which might not immediately make one think "Bayonetta." But there is a very specific sequence that, while brief, certainly appears to be what folks are saying it is.

There is a moment in the "Rain on Me" music video just over two minutes into it where both Gaga and Grande are standing with their backs to the camera with extremely elongated hair waving around unnaturally. Bayonetta, of course, is known for the eponymous character's long hair and hair attacks. Normally, this might seem like a total coincidence, but Lady Gaga is actually a known fan of the franchise. Given that, anything is possible here.

"Still playing #Bayonetta middle of chapter XIII and my hands hurt and I have to sleep and it's 4 In the damn morning but this damn dragon with the face that I have to kill with my weave," Lady Gaga shared on Twitter back in 2018, in one example. "Smh. Give it another go in the morning #gamer respect to the experts I need emotional support"

Still playing #Bayonetta middle of chapter XIII and my hands hurt and I have to sleep and it’s 4 In the damn morning but this damn dragon with the face that I have to kill with my weave. Smh. Give it another go in the morning #gamer respect to the experts I need emotional support

— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) November 24, 2018

Chromatica, the Lady Gaga album from which the music single is taken, is set to release on May 29th. Bayonetta 3, the next entry in the hack-and-slash video game franchise, is in development for the Nintendo Switch. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the Bayonetta franchise right here.

What do you think of Lady Gaga's "Rain on Me" music video? Is that a Bayonetta reference, do you think? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming! And keep reading to see what folks are saying about the music video and specifically the apparent Bayonetta homage!