White House officials have announced that Joe Biden will introduce pop singer Lady Gaga at this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. And while the Vice President will still offer the crowd his signature toothy grin, he joins the ceremony to help bring attention to one of his and Gaga’s biggest causes — awareness for sexual violence against women.
The pop singer is nominated for Best Original Song for her work on Til It Happens to You, a heavy rock number about rape on college campuses, a song which she will perform at this year’s Oscar ceremony. The song was co-written by legendary songwriter Diane Warren, whose work has been nominated for eight Oscars over the years.
Til It Happens to You was penned for a documentary on the same subject called The Hunting Ground, which explores the epidemic of sexual abuse at institutions of higher learning nationwide.
Vice President Biden has long been an advocate against both sexual assualt and domestic abuse. Most notably, the former Senator authored the Violence Against Women Act, which was signed into law by President Clinton in 1994.
Biden, who will be joined by his wife at the ceremony, will not be the first sitting Vice President to attend the Oscars, but he will be the first in a while; Vice President Charles Curtis attended the 4th annual Academy Awards in 1932.
A victim of sexual assault herself, Gaga has been a longtime supporter of more vocal conversations about the issue in America, and recently voiced her support for fellow pop star Kesha, who is currently attempting to get out of a record contract with an allegedly abusive producer.
Both the musician and the Vice President hope to use their performance to promote ItsOnUs.org, a campaign which aims to educate people about all forms of sexual assault.
