Lady Gaga says she “prayed” that President Trump wouldn’t win a second term in office but that she’ll continue to speak out in support of the LGBTQ community.
“The main thing is I have so much compassion and love for so many people that are afraid today,” the singer, who was born Stefani Germanotta, said in an interview with Elle UK conducted less than a week after November’s presidential election and published Tuesday.
“I want to acknowledge I’m a very blessed person and I feel really grateful for so much in my life every day. I know for a lot of people this election was devastating for their existence and so community is going to be the number one thing,” said the 38-year-old Grammy Award winner, who performed last year at a campaign rally for Vice President Harris’s White House bid.
“This just reminds me that we need each other and supporting each other is important. I am one of many people that supports [the LGBTQ and other marginalized] communities. And we’re not going down without a fight,” the “Disease” singer said in the interview
“We will stick together. It’s going to be hard but I’m up for it. We’re up for it. And I just want everyone to know how deeply they’re loved and not invisible,” she said.
Lady Gaga, who this week announced the March 7 release of her new music project “Mayhem,” said, “What’s bizarre is I did not write this album thinking that this would happen. I prayed it would not. But here we are.”
In 2018, Lady Gaga said the Trump administration was “driven by ignorance” following reports that the commander in chief was considering a proposal that would narrowly define a person’s gender by the sex listed on their birth certificate.
Last week, Trump signed an executive order recognizing two sexes, male and female. The order also directed federal agencies to halt any promotion of the concept of gender transition.
Trump has also moved to ban transgender Americans from serving in the military and to halt diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the federal government.
Lady Gaga, the co-founder of the nonprofit Born This Way Foundation, indicated to Elle UK that Trump’s win wouldn’t discourage her advocacy work: “Maybe because I’ve been doing this since I was 20, I have realized that what you say publicly from a big microphone is sometimes just as powerful as what you say in private.”
“Who you are in the public facing eye is who you want to be when no one’s looking,” the entertainer said.
