Lady Gaga got behind her piano and showed love to the transgender community during a performance of her LGBTQ+ anthem “Born This Way” in Las Vegas last week.
The singer-songwriter, who opened this year’s leg of her Jazz & Piano residency on Thursday, announced that she had “something to say about trans rights” in America before fans erupted in cheers.
“When you’ve got something to say, you’ve got to speak up, alright,” said Gaga as she broke into a piano rendition of her 2011 hit.
The singer-songwriter, a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, later stopped mid-performance to add to her remarks.
“And you know, sometimes you hear people say things like ‘I don’t always know what to say,’” Gaga noted.
“Just listen. Don’t say nothing. Listen. Listen to stories of real people’s lives.”
She went on to belt out the song’s line: “No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgender life. I’m on the right track, baby, I was born to survive.”
Gaga’s performance comes as legislators have introduced nearly 500 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community this year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Her comments also arrive as rock musicians such as Carlos Santana and Alice Cooper have come under fire for anti-trans remarks in recent weeks.
Gaga has gone to bat for the transgender community on a number of occasions including in 2017 when she knocked former President Donald Trump’s since-repealed transgender military ban.
“The message you have just sent has endangered the lives of people all over the United States and overseas bravely serving our nation @POTUS,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter) after Trump announced the policy.
The singer later spoke out about a memo leaked by The New York Times the following year that detailed a Trump administration plan to alter the legal definition of gender.
“The government may be living in an alternate universe, but we as a society & culture know who we are and know our truth and must stick together and raise our voices so we can educate them about gender identities. #TransRightsAreHumanRights #WontBeErased,” she wrote on X.
She added: “While today you might feel unheard or unseen, know that this is not the reality of humanity. This is another display of leadership being driven by ignorance.”