After being introduced by Vice President Joe Biden, Lady Gaga took the Academy Awards stage on February 28. As always, the singer-songwriter dominated the stage with her performance of “Til It Happens to You,” a song dedicated to victims of college campus rape. For the special occasion, Gaga was decked out in white and seated at a white Yamaha piano. Halfway through the song, a large group of sexual assault survivors walked up behind her piano, which sparked the crowd to stand up and clap.
Here’s what you need to know:
Biden’s Oscars appearance was announced on February 25. He authored the Violence Against Women Act. While onstage, the VP asked that viewers support the initiative against sexual assault by going to ItsOnUS.org
“Take the pledge, which says I will intervene in situations where consent has not or cannot be given, Let’s change the culture. We must and we can change the culture, so that no abused woman or man, ever has to ask themselves what did I do. They did nothing wrong.”
The song is part of the documentary movie The Hunting Ground and Gaga co-wrote the song with Dianne Warren, an eight-time Oscar nominee. A universal track about various losses in life, the track was used during two sequences, addressing the emotional trauma associated with sexual assault.
Warren put out a statement regarding the 2016 Academy Awards performance.
“We are honored to represent so many survivors and hope ‘Til It Happens to You’ empowers those watching to get involved and become a part of a solution.”
Prior to the event, Lady Gaga tweeted her support for Kesha, in lieu of the sexual abuse allegations against Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald).
.@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.
Following Gaga’s performance, Kesha took to Twitter to commend both her and Biden for reminding viewers about the ongoing issue.
Kesha’s praise aside, Gaga received a slew of compliments on Twitter after her performance. The following are just a few:
