Lady Gaga at the 88th Annual Academy Awards on February 28 in Hollywood, California. (Getty)
Vice President Joe Biden took the Oscars stage on February 28, 2016 to introduce Lady Gaga for her performance of the song, Till It Happens To You. Biden is at the ceremony on behalf of the White House, which is trying to raise on-campus sexual assault awareness for its It’s on US campaign.
The respective initiative was put into place on September 19, 2014 by President Obama and Biden.
With violins in the background, Gaga jammed away on a white Yamaha piano. Later on in the song, several young adults — who displayed writing on their wrists saying “It’s Not Your Fault” — walked up to join the musician. Once the song ended, Gaga joined them as audience members cheered. Actress Rachel McAdams was shown tearing up.
Here’s what you need to know about Biden and Lady Gaga at the 2016 Academy Awards:
1. The Song Is Part of a Documentary About Sexual Assault
“Til It Happens to You” was co-written by Lady Gaga and Diane Warren in for the 2015 documentary, The Hunting Ground, a film addressing campus rapes in the US. The song encourages listeners to empathize with the trauma that sexual assault victims have to deal with. The song was nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2016 Grammy Awards and is up for Best Original Song at the Oscars.
The track had been leaked on the web via unofficial recording made during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. The song was later used in a public service announcement that shows occurrences of sexual assault and violence. Its official music video can be watched below.
2. Los Angeles Traffic Is More Severe Due to Biden’s Presence
(Getty)
Due to Biden’s arrival, Los Angeles has been facing more severe traffic jams, according to Daily Mail. On the Oscars’ website, the LAPD released a map of its streets and sidewalk closures for the Academy Awards. The closures were posted 21 days prior to the event.
This wasn’t the first time Biden caused traffic jams in LA as his presence — after declaring he wouldn’t run for President — on November 16th & 17th in 2015 also caused road closures.
Lady Gaga — en route to Elton John‘s surprise show at Tower Records — Lady Gaga seemingly wasn’t facing any traffic discrepancies. She posted the following Instagram video of herself singing:
3.Biden Attended an Advanced Screening of Tina Fey’s ‘Whiskey Tango Foxtrot’
Biden attended the screening for Tina Fey‘s Whiskey Tango Foxtrot on February 23 at the US Navy Memorial in Washington, DC, according to Deadline. Senator Al Franken, MPAA chairman Chris Dodd and Secretary of State John Kerry were also at the event, according to Variety.
The advanced screening was hosted by Paramount Pictures and The Motion Picture Association. Fey, producer Lorne Michaels, writer Robert Carlock and Viacom EVP of Global Affairs Dede Lee were on hand. The trailer for the comedy can be viewed above.
4. Lady Gaga Declared That She’s Rooting for Leonardo DiCaprio at the Oscars
Don’t know about u but I’m rooting for LEO! He’s blessed us w/ years of his storytelling, he deserves this! #1!! ❤️
On February 28, Lady Gaga took to Twitter to tell her fans that she’s rooting for Leonardo DiCaprio to win Best Actor for his role in The Revenant.
Lady Gaga isn’t the only celebrity as Bette Midler and Adele are also pulling for Leo on the biggest movie night of the year. The two stars took to Twitter to show their support.
The Oscars are today! You know, the awards show where Leonardo DiCaprio is “overdue” but black people can “wait till next year.”
Good luck Leo! Everyone loves you because you’re the best. Meet me at the clock anytime bruv X
5. Lady Gaga’s Dedicating Her Oscars Performance to Kesha
When Lady Gaga takes the stage to perform “Til It Happens to You,” she’ll have Kesha in her thoughts. A judge ruled despite Kesha’s sexual abuse allegations, it’s not a reasonable request to “decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“You’re asking the court to decimate a contract that was heavily negotiated and typical for the industry,” Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich told Kesha.
On February 19, the singer went up against Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald),a songwriter-producer. Kesha alleges that Gottwald drugged and raped her 10 years ago and committed continued abuse. Kesha has been trying to get a preliminary injunction that would allow her to record music outside of Dr. Luke’s scope.
Lady Gaga tweeted the following in support of Kesha:
.@kesharose I’ll be thinking of u 2nite. This is not over we’ll stand by u until you are free to live a HAPPY life. Everyone deserves that.