Stonewall Riots 50th anniversary: Lady Gaga tells LGBTQ community, 'I would take a bullet for you' in stirring speech
During a rally in New York City commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Lady Gaga said she would take a bullet for the LGBTQ community.
"I surrender to all hatred. Cause you know what? I will kill it with kindness. True love. True, true love is when you take a bullet for someone. And I would take a bullet for you any day of the week," the pop singer said during her speech outside New York's iconic Stonewall Inn,
Lady Gaga expressed her gratitude and love for the crowd descended upon Christopher Street to honor the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots right outside the iconic West Village landmark. She made an appearance on the stage in a rainbow-colored military style jacket and rainbow thigh-high boots. “Look around you. Look at what you have done,” the singer said. “You are the definition of courage, do you know that? This is my mothership. And you, you are my leaders. And I will follow you."
"You are the definition of courage. Do you know that?" she said through teary eyes. "I feel so honored and privileged to even be asked to be here."
The singer— whose non-profit Born This Way Foundation supports LGBTQ youth — went on to say: "Some people, some people, don't consider me a part of this community." Although Gaga said that she "[likes] girls sometimes," she would "never degrade the fight you have all endured, the adversity that you have all been through to truly be seen, to be heard, or the struggles that you've been through to love yourselves and to seek that love from other people. But honestly, I really, really love you."
The pop star continued to talk about the ways that the society has changed over the last five decades – with people being able to come out of the closet at a much younger age compared to before – and the many different ways that the society still needs to improve. "It is said that those who threw the first brick on that historic night were members of the trans community. While we have made tremendous progress, we find ourselves also at a time where attacks on the trans community are on an increasing rise each day. I will not tolerate this. And guess what? I know neither will you," she said.
The 'Born This Way' singer wasn't the only one voicing her support for the community. Chelsea Clinton, Donatella Versace, Whoopi Goldberg and Valerie Jarrett were also present. Following a performance from Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys took the stage to perform and that was followed by talks and discussions with other activists. The rally is a part of the World Pride NYC, which culminates on June 30 with the annual NYC Pride March.
You can watch Gaga's speech here: