- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
Lady Gaga took a moment during her Artpop Ball tour in Atlantic City two nights ago to give an emotional speech supporting the NYC Pride festivities during a spare rendition of her hit, “Born This Way.”
PHOTOS Yes I Did Say That: Lady Gaga, Chris Rock, George Lucas and others
“Who’s going to Pride in New York tomorrow?” she asked a cheering crowd.
“Since I first started my career, I was criticized every step of the way, and I’ll tell you something, if you are doing anything in your life that makes a difference, you will be criticized the whole time,” she said. “It takes a lot of bravery to be each and every one of you that are here today. And I just want to tell you how proud I am to be a part of this community.”
“You know they told me I was too gay, they told me I was too, like, glamorous, but can you be too glamorous?” she said. “And now they say I’m too artsy, right? Well, just because I’m fu–ing gay and I like art doesn’t make me invisible.”
Later in the show, Gaga read a heartfelt letter from a fan tossed on the stage, telling the singer she was influential in her coming out and saying her wish was to meet her hero.
STORY Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga Take It to the Classroom
Touched, Gaga found the girl in the crowd, and told her that she loved making her fans’ dreams come true. She invited her backstage, and said she was going to give her a “big kiss.” Gaga has been most generous during the “Letters to Gaga” segment of the show, reading letters from fans in Atlanta, DC, and Philadelphia, when she had a heart-to-heart with a girl who broke her back and is hoping that one day she could recover from her injury and dance again, like Gaga.
The 28-year old singer spent the rest of her weekend in Atlantic City with friends, family and her boyfriend, actor Taylor Kinney.
The singer has a soft spot for the New Jersey gambling mecca, telling the crowd a story about how she and her friends used to make overnight train trips from New York and start gambling at 5 a.m.
“We had nothing to lose, except the $75 in our pockets,” she said. “I grew up here.”
Watch the video below:
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day