Lady Gaga Speaks Out Against ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Posted September 21, 2010 by J Matthew Cobb in Features

No stranger to politics or current events, pop singer Lady Gaga tackles the weighty, controversial ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, passed in 1993 by former U.S. president Bill Clinton. She addressed a crowd of thousands gathered at Deering Oaks Park, near the University of Southern Maine, to strongly address her opposing views on the heated subject. The high-profiled glam superstar didn’t come to perform her hits, but to send a strong message to Maine’s two senators who voted this Tuesday on a bill to either end the bill or reinstate it.

“Her speech really resonated with me because, actually, this summer, I thought about joining the military, but because I’m gay, I can’t,” USM student Kelly Golek said. “If it’s repealed, there’s a very good chance I will [enlist]. So I thought this whole event was amazing, because you really don’t see something like this. Like, what other pop star would come out and do this? She’s very brave, and I was totally moved by that speech.”

With some media outlets questioning how the event was staged, the media finally learned that Gaga wasn’t paid for her appearance and that she did it “because she felt like she needed to;” according to Chris Johnson, a supporter who spoke with MTV News during the rally.

“I think it’s unbelievable. I was in shock when we first heard. I don’t even know how to describe it,” USM freshman Joseph Sibley laughed. “When we found out, I was like, ‘There’s no way, nobody ever comes to Maine, and nobody ever talks to us.’ … And I’m glad I came. It was awesome.”

In her speech, she left a bold message to officers serving in the military who are homophobic; stating that “it seem that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is backwards…we should send home the prejudice.” She continues: “The straight soldier that hates the gay soldier…the straight soldier who has prejudice in his heart and in this space where the military asks him to hold our core American values, he instead holds and harbors hate and he gets to stay and fight for our country.”

Earlier this year, Lady Gaga appeared on CNN’s Larry King Live and was asked what she felt about the policy.

“Equality is the prime rib of America,” she said. “And I don’t get to enjoy the greatest cut of meat that my country has to offer. Are you listening?

“Shouldn’t everyone deserve the right to wear the same meat dress that I did?”

Although Gaga’s message made headlines and gathered up some velocity on the blogs, the Senate voted against the repeal. Republican senators led by Sen. John McCain, the party’s 2008 presidential nominee, united on Tuesday to block legislation that would have allowed President Barack Obama to repeal a long-standing policy banning gays from serving openly in the U.S. military.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs addressed the public today, on the day of the Democrats’ defeat, saying “I don’t think this is the end. We’ll keep trying.”