Los Angeles:
Singer Lady Gaga used her Oscar performance as a medium to bring attention to rape culture.
The 29-year-old singer brought sexual assault survivors to Oscars stage for performance of anti-rape culture anthem from documentary “The Hunting Ground,” an expose of the institutional cover-ups and failings of colleges and police to investigate a spate of rapes on campuses in the US.
The performance by pop star, who recently opened up about being assaulted as a teenager, was introduced by US Vice President Joe Biden. He was promoting the White House’s ‘It’s On Us’ campaign to help stop sexual abuse.
“Despite significant progress over the last few years, too many women and men on and off college campuses are victims of sexual abuse.
“We must and we can change the culture so that no abused woman or man - like the survivors you see here tonight - ever feel like they have to ask themselves, ‘What did I do?’ They did not do anything wrong,” Biden said in his introduction piece.
The survivors made their way to the stage halfway through Gaga’s performance with messages like “survivor”, “it’s not your fault”, “we believe you” and “unbreakable,” scribbled on their wrists.
The singer continued her act singing to a piano as the abuse survivors stood hand-in-hand on stage.
The performance of the song co-written by Gaga and Diane Warren, also a sexual assault survivor, scored a standing ovation from the audience.
