Lady Gaga Details Experience As Sexual Assault Survivor In Emotional Speech

A tearful Lady Gaga detailed her experiences as a sexual assault survivor in the entertainment industry, telling the 25th annual ELLE Women in Hollywood gala that her outfit for the evening – an oversized suit, designed for women – was the only one that felt right.

“Today I wear the pants,” she said.

Gaga said she felt uneasy trying on traditional dresses in preparation for the event, and settled on the suit for powerfully symbolic reasons.

“I tried on dress after dress today getting ready for this event, one tight corset after another, one heel after another, a diamond, a feather, thousands of beaded fabrics and the most beautiful silks in the world,” Gaga said.

To be honest, I felt sick to my stomach And I asked myself: What does it really mean to be a woman in Hollywood? We are not just objects to entertain the world. We are not simply images to bring smiles or grimaces to people’s faces. We are not members of a giant beauty pageant meant to be pit against one another for the pleasure of the public. We women in Hollywood, we are voices. We have deep thoughts and ideas and beliefs and values about the world and we have the power to speak and be heard and fight back when we are silenced.

The singer and actress said “in this suit, I felt like me today.” A “me” who was prepared to share her outlook as a sexual assault survivor, and voice her viewpoints as an avowed mental health advocate.

In this suit, I felt the truth of who I am well up in my gut. And then wondering what I wanted to say tonight become very clear to me. As a sexual assault survivor by someone in the entertainment industry, as a woman who is still not brave enough to say his name, as a woman who lives with chronic pain, as a woman who was conditioned at a very young age to listen to what men told me to do, I decided today I wanted to take the power back.

Gaga said she was assaulted at age 19, and that she kept the incident to herself for years. Even then, Gaga said that when she brought her allegation to “very powerful men in this industry, nobody helped me.”

She added that her journey through an uncaring industry, and its psychological and physical toll, moved her to become a “voice for change.”

And Gaga asked the audience, which included Angela Bassett, Mindy Kaling, Mia Farrow, and countless other heroes to “get louder.

“And not just as women. But as humans. And see that there are great men in the world. And ask them to hold our hands. For justice.”

You can read her full speech HERE. 

This article discusses sexual assault. If you would like to talk to a counsellor about rape, sexual assault or domestic violence, give the people over at 1800 RESPECT a call on 1800 737 732.

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