Lady Gaga gets matching tattoo with sexual assault survivors following moving Oscars performance
The singer said the group made a pact at rehearsals
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.In a show of solidarity, Lady Gaga has got matching tattoos with some of the sexual assault survivors she shared the stage with at the Oscars.
Gaga’s powerful performance of her Oscar-nominated song “Till It Happens To You” featured a group of rape survivors during Sunday night’s ceremony. The performance was introduced by Vice President of the US, Joe Biden, who used the platform to urge the crowd: “We must and we can change the culture so that no abused woman or man […] ever feel like they have to ask themselves, ‘What did I do?’ They did not do anything wrong.”
The featured women and men in the performance stood together while Gaga sang and played the piano and had phrases like “Not your fault”, “Survivor” and “Unbreakable” written on their forearms.
The stage presence of solidarity was strong and powerful and a bond that has since been continued with a few, including Gaga, getting matching tattoos.
The singer documented herself getting the tattoo on her Snapchat where she explains: “At rehearsals the survivors and me made a pact.” She also asked fans which way round to get the intrinsic design before showing the finished product on the left side of her upper back.
Gaga then re-tweeted a post which showed her tattoo along with the identical artwork on three other people.
The 29-year-old has emerged as a role model for survivors of sexual assault in recent months after campaigning against victim blaming and speaking candidly of her own alleged rape when she was younger by a man 20 years her senior.
In December, she told a New York Times panel: “I didn’t know how to even think about it, accept it, how to not blame myself or think it was my fault. It was something that really changed my life, it changed who I was completely, it changed my body, it changed my thoughts.”