The video was inspired by the Broadway musical Cabaret (1966), anti-fascism, religion, BDSM, sexual violence and the gay scene in 1920s Berlin. It begins with soldiers in black leather uniforms (designed by Emporio Armani) in a cabaret. This is followed by a close-up of a soldier passed out in fishnet stockings and heels as another lone soldier stares into the distance. The scene then cuts to male dancers performing elaborate choreography while marching forward with a Star of David. As the song's intro begins, Gaga is shown leading a funeral procession and carrying the Sacred Heart on a pillow. When the lyrics begin, she sits on a throne in an elaborate headpiece and binocular-like eyepieces, holding a smoking pipe and watching her dancers perform a rigorous routine in the snow. Playing the character Sally Bowles from Cabaret in the following scene, Gaga dances and simulates sex acts with three men on a stage with twin beds, intercut with shots of her lying on a larger bed dressed in a red latex nun outfit.
