Lady Gaga’s latest album, Mayhem, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Albums chart this week, capping off a promotional run in which she consistently reaffirmed her support for the queer and trans community. Amid ongoing challenges to LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S., the pop icon has used her platform to uplift and advocate for those most affected.
At the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 17, where she received the Innovator Award, Gaga took a moment to thank her devoted fans—her “Little Monsters”—with a special tribute to the LGBTQ+ community.
“You taught me bravery before the world was ready to listen,” she declared. “You have changed the world for the better, and your courage fuels mine every single day.”
One of those fans, Grammy-winning rapper Doechii, introduced Gaga by calling her “a lifeline” for queer kids who grew up feeling different.
“Gaga taught us that it was OK to be our real selves, to try new things, to speak out and to create,” Doechii said. “Gaga was and always is new, fresh, and different. And not only is that OK, but it’s ideal.”
This was just the latest example of Gaga using her platform to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. At the 2025 Grammy Awards in February, she earned a standing ovation when she took a moment to address trans visibility while accepting the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance award for Die with a Smile, her duet with Bruno Mars.
“I just want to say tonight that trans people are not invisible,” she stated. “Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love.”
During a March 8 episode of The Interview podcast with The New York Times, host David Marchese noted that Gaga was the only artist at the Grammys to make an explicit statement in support of trans rights. When asked whether her work in 2025 had taken on a political aspect, she responded that being in the public eye has always carried a political responsibility.
“I’m not interested in being famous to stand for nothing at all,” she explained. “It’s a privilege to stand with people who are so amazing. I’m in awe of the trans community, and I have been since I was really young. And if you win an award, you have 45 seconds to speak while the world is listening. I just wanted to say something that matters.”
She went on to express her empathy for trans individuals facing hostility in today’s political climate:
“I’m not a trans person, but I try to imagine what it would feel like to wake up living in America and living in the world right now,” she said. “We can’t just whisper about these things. We have to say them out loud.”
In a March 5 interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Gaga called out the injustices facing trans-Americans under the current administration, describing them as “completely unfair, wrong.”
“I think that we all need to support trans people and each other to know that they deserve to be supported and loved and protected,” she said.
Speaking with The Advocate, she also criticised efforts to erase LGBTQ+ contributions to the arts and entertainment industry, calling them “wrong” and equating them to a form of “violence.”
Reflecting on her nearly two-decade-long career, Gaga credited her fans with shaping her advocacy.
“I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like to be famous without the type of fan base that I had,” she shared. “A fan base that stood for something and stood for each other.”
