Lady Gaga dedicated a song to Jamey Rodemeyer, the gay teen who committed suicide last week, at the iHeartRadio Festival.
A vocal advocate of gay rights, the singer opened her ballad “Hair” by telling the audience, “We lost a little monster this week,” referring to the nickname given to her fans. “Jamey, I know you’re up there looking at us, and you’re not a victim,” she said. “You’re a lesson to all of us.”
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She then performed the song, which she has said is about liberation.
Rodemeyer, who was 14 years old, was found dead on Sept. 18 outside his home in Buffalo, N.Y. Police are calling his death a suicide but will not go into further detail. He had posted YouTube videos in which he talked about being bullied at school because of his sexuality. He mentioned being a big fan of Lady Gaga’s in his videos, and thanked her in his final blog post.
After the suicide, Lady Gaga tweeted, “The past days I’ve spent reflecting, crying, and yelling. I have so much anger. It is hard to feel love when cruelty takes someone’s life. Bullying must become illegal. It is a hate crime.”
Police are investigating whether the bullies can be charged. (via Gawker)
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