Lady Gaga’s family learned of her rape from Oscars performance
In 2014, Lady Gaga revealed that she was raped at the age of 19. But her grandmother and aunt were unaware that she was a victim until her moving performance of “Til It Happens To You” aired live at the Oscars.
The 29-year-old wrote about the reactions she received from her family in a lengthy post to her millions of fans and followers on Twitter and Instagram.
“My grandmother (in the middle) and my Aunt Sheri (on the right) both called me the day after the Oscars because I never told them I was a survivor,” Gaga said.
Gaga performed the Oscar-nominated song, which she co-wrote (with Diane Warren) for The Hunting Ground, a documentary about sexual assault on college campuses. She was introduced by Vice President Joe Biden, as he encouraged viewers to help: “Change the culture so that no abused woman or man…ever feels like they have to ask themselves, ‘What did I do?'”
Gaga continued in her post, “I thought it was my fault for ten years. The morning after the Oscars when I talked to my grandmother Ronnie, with tears in her eyes I could hear them welling through the phone she said to me ‘My darling granddaughter, I’ve never been more proud of you than I am today.'”
During the rousing performance, Gaga was joined on stage by 50 survivors of sexual assault. To find out how you can get involved, we encourage you to visit ItsOnUs.org.