Lady Gaga was awarded a peace prize by Yoko Ono this week in Iceland.
The pop singer was given the LennonOno Grant for Peace at the Imagine Peace Tower at Kollafjörður Bay. Gaga was honored for her social activism and was given a $50,000 grant.
The Poker Face singer said that she would donate the money to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Gaga said:
“I will be donating this grant to the Elton John AIDS foundation and I will be working closely with them to ensure that the money goes specifically to those orphans and disadvantaged youth in America born with HIV or AIDS.”
E! Online reports that Gaga was chosen for her award for several reasons. She made major contributions to relief efforts in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and Japan after the tsunami in 2011. She also recently started the Born This Way Foundation.
Yoko Ono said that Lady Gaga was given the award because she combined stardom with activism and helped change the “mental map” of the world.
Ono said:
“Lady Gaga is in a position of number one as a singer-songwriter … And when you are number one you don’t want to risk yourself. And she did.”
Reuters reports that Russian band Pussy Riot was also awarded the LennonOno Peace Prize. Band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova’s husband accepted the award on the band’s behalf.
