Lada Gaga ‘Till It Happens To You’ Video Tackles Rape In College [Video]


Lady Gaga has a new video out, and it’s about a very serious subject: rape on college campuses. Gaga collaborated with acclaimed songwriter Diane Warren to pen “Till It Happens to You” an unflinching take on an issue that college students are unfortunately all too familiar with.

The song is for The Hunting Ground, a campus rape documentary focusing on the current sexual assault epidemic plaguing colleges around the U.S., Entertainment Weekly reports.

The video, shot in black and white, is disturbing and raw, so much so that it needs a disclaimer before it begins.

“The following contains graphic content that may be emotionally upsetting but reflects the reality of what is happening daily on college campuses.”

The video shows the viewer how sexual assault can happen in settings that are familiar to any college student, including a dorm room and a party. It also shows how difficult the recovery from sexual assault can be. One of the victims writes “I am worthless” on her body. Another writes, “Sometimes I hate myself.” The video stars Nikki Reed (Twilight) and Kiersey Clemons (Dope) and was directed by Catherine Hardwicke.

According to an article in the Huffington Post, campus rape statistics estimate that one in five women in college will be victims of rape or attempted rape during their freshman year. A report by the Center for Disease Control study published in 2014 estimates that close to 20 percent of women are victims of rape or attempted rape.

Last year on The Howard Stern Show, Lady Gaga admitted that she was raped by a record producer who was 20 years older than her, Billboard reports.

“I went through some horrific things,” Gaga told Stern on the topic of rape. “I’m able to laugh now because I’ve gone through a lot of mental, physical and emotional therapy.”

“I wrote a song called ‘Swine’; the song is about rape,” Gaga said about the song that appears on her album, ARTPOP. “The song is about demoralization. The song is about rage and fury and passion, and I had a lot of pain that I wanted to release.”

According to the YouTube page for “Till It Happens to You,” part of the proceeds from sales of the song will go to charities that help survivors of sexual assault with recovery.

Lady Gaga doesn’t appear in the video, but fans can next see her in American Horror Story: Hotel. Gaga plays The Countess, the owner of Hotel Cortez, a rumored location for multiple murders.

[Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]

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