Well known for her outspoken outfits and stunning voice, Lady Gaga has been on the charts since she hit the radio with “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” in 2008. However, she has come a long way since those club hits. She has released 5 albums, become a fashion icon, and was named Woman of the Year in Billboard . With many awards and nominations under her belt, Lady Gaga has used her star power to promote awareness of LGBT+ and most recently, sexual assault on college campuses. “Til It Happens to You” was written by Lady Gaga and sexual assault survivor, Diane Warren, for a documentary named The Hunting Ground. 

This documentary was released in the Sundance Film Festival back in January of 2015 and focuses on two UNC students who were raped while at the school. According to the U.S. Department of Justice the percentage of women who are raped or almost raped on a college campus is between 20%-25%; 9 out of 10 of these women knew the offender. And these statistics do not include rape or attempted rape of men on college campuses.  The Hunting Ground  makes these statistics known as it shows students who were say they were assaulted. These students reveal that school officials either ignored the allegations or forced the students to go through the winding and impossible track of the school’s administration. It appears that these schools (the film focused on Harvard, UNC Chapel Hill, Amherst College, and Notre Dame) were more concerned with their schools appearing safe than actually being safe for its students. These documentary brings sexual assault to light, and the failure of our society to reprimand these offenders. Victims often feel ashamed and that their traumatic event was “their fault.” Lady Gaga tells her “Little Monsters” differently.

Lady Gaga was sexually assaulted at age 19. Up until the 88th Academy Awards, no one in her family knew that she was a survivor. She said that she felt ashamed because she was Catholic and that this act was pure evil and she just could not tell her family. However, Lady Gaga showed that you can overcome something as tragic as what she went through. On the night of the awards, Vice President Joe Biden introduced Lady Gaga and “Til It Happens to You.”  As a vision in white, Lady Gaga performed this emotional piece and then the most striking image of the entire show occurred. Towards the end of the song, Lady Gaga was joined by 50 other survivors. As the audience rose to a standing ovation, Lady Gaga held hands with her fellow survivors in defiance of the victim stereotype. Although Lady Gaga did not win an Oscar for her song, she did spread the message of sexual assault on college campuses through this memorable performance. Mother Monster, by using her undeniable fame, showed that despite being a victim, she is a survivor and no one can take that away from her.