Jan 29
Gaga, Madonna Speak Out Against Attacks on the LGBTQ+ Community
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Two music icons with big gay followings are speaking out against the attacks the Trump administration has launched against the LGBTQ+ community.
Even before Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, Gaga was letting it be known that her advocacy and support would be undiminished, TMZ noted.
Calling Trump's resumption of the presidency "devastating," Gaga declared her determination to be there for the queer community during the challenges that lay ahead in an interview with Elle.
The interview focuses largely on Mother Monster's hotly anticipated seventh studio album, titled "Mayhem" – a name that is all too apt for the times. "We meet six days after the results of the American election are announced. Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold, mayhem has been unleashed on a global stage – no one could accuse Gaga of not reading the room," the article mused.
Speaking to that, Gaga 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."
The "Folie a Deux" star went on to add, "'The main thing is I have so much compassion and love for so many people that are afraid today.... 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."
"This just reminds me that we need each other and supporting each other is important," Gaga stated. "I am one of many people that supports [the LGBTQIA+ and other marginalized] communities. And we're not going down without a fight."
"We will stick together," Gaga went on to say. "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."
"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," she continued. "Who you are in the public facing eye is who you want to be when no one's looking."
Madonna, meanwhile, jumped into the fray even as Trump kicked off the next four years with assaults on America's LGTBQ+ and other marginalized citizens in the form of executive orders targeting DEI initiatives and transgender military servicemembers.
"The pop icon took to her X account (formerly Twitter)... to express her support for the LGBTQ community," The Hollywood Reporter recounted.
"It's so sad to watch our new Government slowly dismantling all the Freedoms we have been fighting for and WON over the years," the "Vogue" singer tweeted, "adding the LGBTQ pride flag and broken red heart emojis," THR said.
"Don't give up the Fight!" added the Queen of Pop.
"The 'Material Girl' singer has been a longtime advocate for the LGBTQ community, dating back to the 1980s, when she spoke out about the HIV/AIDS crisis and was fighting for gay rights," THR recalled.
"In 2019, Madonna was also honored with the Advocate for Change Award at the 30th annual GLAAD Media Awards."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
