Joe Biden To Introduce Lady Gaga’s ‘Rape Anthem’ Performance At The Oscars
So far, we don’t know what Lady Gaga has planned for her Oscar performance, but we do know one tidbit — she’ll be announced by Vice President Joe Biden. It’s a significant move, given that Mr. Biden will give a speech about sexual abuse prior to Gaga taking to the stage.
Lady Gaga’s “Till It Happens To You,” a survivor anthem for those who have been raped, was nominated for an Oscar this year for Best Original Song for its use in the film The Hunting Ground. The Hunting Ground is a documentary that focuses on assault on college campuses.
Although Gaga wowed critics and fans last year when she sang a medley of The Sound of Music, to commemorate the anniversary, this year’s performance at the Oscars is expected to be significant for its powerful message.
According to White House officials, Joe Biden will make a statement about sexual assault that occurs on college campuses. Time reports Mr. Biden will urge the audience and viewers at home “to help change the culture around sexual assault.”
The pairing of Lady Gaga and Vice President Joe Biden isn’t unusual, at least when it comes to sexual violence. Mr. Biden has been an advocate for action being taken. In 1994, he signed the Violence Against Women Act, which has improved lives in many ways. It was instated to hold rapists accountable for their crimes and to “strengthen federal penalties for repeat sex offenders.” It also let women receive free rape exams. Biden has also been a strong voice in the White House’s “It’s On Us” campaign, which is to encourage people to speak up when they witness a sexual crime.
The Vice President also wrote an op-ed about the “It’s On Us” campaign, which appeared in college newspapers. The op-ed was part of the “It’s On Us Week of Action.”
In the op-ed, Mr. Biden wrote as follows.
“President Obama and I started It’s On Us—to wake-up our colleges and universities – and the country – to the epidemic of sexual violence on their campuses.”
He continued.
“You know that survivors are not statistics. They’re our sisters; they’re our classmates; they’re our friends. They’re at every university, every college, in every community—large and small. For all of them, everywhere, we can and we must end sexual and dating violence on campus.”
When Gaga heard that her song with songwriter Diane Warren had been nominated, she tweeted a genuine message of gratitude while highlighting the voiceless of sexual abuse.
Til It Happens To You my original score with @Diane_Warren for “The Hunting Ground” was nominated for an OSCAR???? pic.twitter.com/S7kJZAY6u5
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) January 14, 2016
Recently, Lady Gaga, a victim of rape herself, has supported another victim of sexual assault, musical act Kesha. The singer was involved in a legal battle with her alleged perpetrator, music producer Dr. Luka, who she has accused of drugging and raping her, along with experiencing mental and emotional abuse during her time working with the producer. Instead of being released from her contract at Sony, a judge ruled in favor of Dr. Luke’s lawyers, making Kesha responsible for putting out additional albums under the label. Gaga has stepped up for Kesha in a large way via social media, and some even speculate that she will speak about Kesha’s personal plight at the Oscars.
Lady Gaga and Kesha hung out, held hands and shared a smooch together https://t.co/NRdUixi9GZ pic.twitter.com/7TN6NcOfIp
— BreatheHeavy (@breatheheavycom) February 25, 2016
This isn’t the first time someone from the White House has gotten involved in the Oscars ceremony. During the 2013 Academy Awards, First Lady Michelle Obama, handed out the award for Best Picture to Ben Affleck, for his film Argo.
[Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images]
