Lady Gaga performed a gorgeous rendition of her Oscar-nominated song, "Til It Happens To You," from the film "The Hunting Ground" on Sunday night at the 88th Annual Academy Awards.
Vice President Joe Biden presented the songstress.
"Despite significant progress over the last few years, too many women and men on and off college campuses are still victims of sexual abuse," the vice president said. "Tonight, I'm asking you to join millions of Americans including me, President Obama, the thousands of students I have met on college campuses and the artist here to take the pledge. A pledge that says, 'I will intervene in situations when consent has not or cannot be given. We must and we can change the culture so that no abused woman or man, like the survivors you see tonight, never have to ask themselves, 'What did I do?' They did nothing wrong!"
He encouraged viewers to take the pledge at ItsOnUs.org and introduced Lady Gaga.
She stunned the audience as she played the piano onstage and sang a song that means so much to her. She shared her stage with victims of sexual abuse, who stood proudly as she sang. In the end, the entire audience stood for an applause. There was not a dry eye in sight.
Mcenter>
Gaga has been vocal about her experience as a sexual assault victim. In 2014, she revealed on "The Howard Stern Show" that she was sexually assaulted by a man 20 years her senior. She opened up about the initial denial she felt and how it took her years to finally accept what had happened to her.
"It didn't affect me as much right after as it did about four or five years later," she said. "It hit me so hard. I was so traumatized by it that I was like, 'Just keep going,' because I just had to get out of there."
Before the show, Gaga tweeted an inspirational message for her good friend Kesha, who is currently battling to get out of a recording contract with a man she says sexually abused her.
About the Author
