Lady Gaga shouts out trans rights during her Las Vegas residency

Lady Gaga said “Trans Rights!” during a recent performance of her “Jazz & Piano” residency in Las Vegas.

A fan video posted to X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) late last week shows the singer wearing a shimmering pink gown and seated at a piano during the August 31 show at Park MGM Hotel Casino’s Dolby Live amphitheater.

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Irish pop star Róisín Murphy apologizes for “heartbreaking” anti-trans comments

The singer neither disavowed her comments nor clarified her views on trans minors’ right to receive necessary healthcare.

“I’ve got something to say about trans rights in this country,” she said before beginning to play the opening chords of her 2011 hit Born This Way.

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“You got something to say, you’ve got to speak up, alright?” she told the audience before launching into the song.

Gaga, of course, has a massive LGBTQ+ fanbase, and Born This Way, the lead single from her second studio album, has become an anthem for the community. The song, which is all about pride and self-acceptance, includes the lyrics “No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgender life / I’m on the right track, baby, I was born to survive.”

Partway through the August 31 performance, Gaga stopped the song to address the audience again. “Sometimes you hear people say things like, ‘I don’t always know what to say,’” she said. “Just listen. Don’t say nothing. Listen. Listen to stories of real people’s lives.”

It’s worth noting that Gaga continues to perform the song’s original lyrics, some of which have been described as racially insensitive by critics. In his 2021 cover of the song featured on the 10th anniversary edition of the Born This Way album, out country singer Orville Peck replaced the line “Chola or Orient made” with “Asian or Latinx made.”

Gaga’s plea for folks to listen to trans people comes as Republican politicians across the country continue to demagogue the transgender community in an effort to turn out voters. Misinformation about gender-affirming care and the trans community more broadly have led to state laws banning gender-affirming care for young people, banning trans people from using public restrooms that align with their gender identity, and banning trans women and girls from competing on women’s athletic teams.

At the same time, other high-profile musicians seem to be listening to and repeating the anti-trans misinformation rather than the “stories of real people’s lives.” Recently Kiss’s Paul Stanley, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, Carlos Santana, Alice Cooper, and even Róisín Murphy have all made headlines for their anti-trans comments.