Lady Gaga rallies for gay rights: “Repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell or go home.”

Singer Lady Gaga speaks at a rally in Portland, Maine, September 20, 2010 urging members of the Senate to repeal the military rule banning openly gay people from serving in the armed forces. The event was organized by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network to pressure Republican U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine to vote to allow a repeal of the policy. REUTERS/Joel Page (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT POLITICS)

Lady Gaga gave a political speech in Maine yesterday. She made the appearance at a rally on behalf of the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT). Even though Gaga has been mocked by legit newsmen and celebrity sites for her speech, I kind of love it. It’s Gaga, not a senator. She can say sh-t that other people can’t, and she can be unapologetically passionate about gay rights. The video is below, and her speech starts around the 1:50 minute mark.

Declaring that “Equality is the prime rib of America,” pop star Lady Gaga urged Maine’s two U.S. senators to help break a Republican filibuster on legislation that includes a repeal of the military’s ban on openly homosexual service members.

“My name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. I am an American citizen,” the singer told a Portland, Maine, rally organized by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. She urged Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both Republicans, to support the repeal of the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule and share “the greatest cut of meat that my country has to offer” with gays and lesbians in the military.

“Shouldn’t everyone deserve the right to wear the same meat dress that I do?” asked the singer, who caught flak for showing up at MTV’s Video Music Awards in a dress made of raw meat. “Repeal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ or go home.”

The 24-year-old singer also drew cheers by proposing a new law, titled, “If you don’t like it, go home,” which would remove homophobic straight soldiers from the military instead of gay soldiers. If you are not honorable enough to fight without prejudice, go home.”

Opponents of the 1993 ban have urged Snowe and Collins, both of whom oppose the policy, to join Democrats and help shut down a Republican-led filibuster of a defense authorization bill that would repeal the restriction. Democrats are unlikely to muster the 60-vote supermajority needed to get the bill to the Senate floor without their support. But in statements issued Monday, both senators indicated they would vote with GOP leaders and block the measure. A key procedural vote is set for Tuesday afternoon.

In addition to speaking at Monday’s rally, Gaga has used her online presence to rally her fans — nicknamed “Little Monsters” — in support of repeal.

“All hands on deck Lil Monsters: Key Senate vote this Tues. on #DADT repeal. We need 60 senators. Call your senator now,” she tweeted on Thursday. She goes into more detail on her website, offering talking points for fans who make the call and urging them to voice their opposition to a filibuster or any amendments that would keep the ban in effect.

[From CNN]

I know a lot of you hate her, but I personally agree 100% with Gaga’s political stance. The Senate vote on DADT – the repeal of which is part of large Pentagon spending bill – is today, and Sen. McCain has already announced his plans to filibuster. To break a potential filibuster, Democrats are seeking the support of Maine’s two Republican senators – thus, Gaga’s appearance at the rally in Maine. Regarding her meat dress comments – eh. On that part, Gaga just needs to give it a rest.

UPDATE: Sen. McCain’s filibuster was successful. DADT Repeal and the Pentagon spending bill went down, even though the vote was 56-43. They needed 60 votes to end the filibuster, I think. I don’t know. Senate rules are ridiculous. And every single one of the 43 senators who voted to keep the filibuster going, thus capsizing the DADT repeal, is now best friends with a terrorist. You won’t vote to give the Pentagon their bill? Soft on terror.

Singer Lady Gaga gestures as she speaks at a rally in Portland, Maine, September 20, 2010 urging members of the Senate to repeal the military rule banning openly gay people from serving in the armed forces. The event was organized by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network to pressure Republican U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine to vote to allow a repeal of the policy. REUTERS/Joel Page (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT POLITICS)

Singer Lady Gaga speaks at a rally in Portland, Maine, September 20, 2010 urging members of the Senate to repeal the military rule banning openly gay people from serving in the armed forces. The event was organized by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network to pressure Republican U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine to vote to allow a repeal of the policy. REUTERS/Joel Page (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT POLITICS)

Singer Lady Gaga speaks at a rally in Portland, Maine, September 20, 2010 urging members of the Senate to repeal the military rule banning openly gay people from serving in the armed forces. The event was organized by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network to pressure Republican U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine to vote to allow a repeal of the policy. REUTERS/Joel Page (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY)

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100 Responses to “Lady Gaga rallies for gay rights: “Repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell or go home.””

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  1. PrimeO says:

    She’s so ugly, so ridiculous, why doesn’t she just shut up?? (I mean this “in general”… )

    Oh, and nice glasses, loser!

  2. gillie says:

    love this statement. hope it works.

  3. SammyHammy says:

    I don’t care what her stance is on anything. I just cannot stand her. She has NO discerable talent, is fugly as heck and seems to think wearing idiotic costumes is a good substitute for having actual talent. She’s just gross.

  4. jay says:

    I find it incredibly sad that if you DIDN’T know your fellow serviceman/woman were gay you were willing to put your life in their hands; in many instances that action probably SAVED.SOMEONE’S.LIFE. So by NOW knowing that lifesaver is gay they are suddenly unable to perform the action well enough to leave you walking amongst the living? Puhleeze. The DADT policy is bullshit. What needs to be done is punish those that exhibit the bigotry against a fellow soldier, be it ethnic, gender, or sexual identification based. It’s all about fear and sex; it has no place in protection of our country, one these men and women have willingly joined up to provide, even knowing that such bigotry exists. Time for the medieval bullshit to be cleaned up.

    It’s appalling that this could be defeated because of such a minor number of votes short. Ridiculous. Majority should never rule in instances of equality; if it did women would still be owned by our husbands, no voting rights for people of color or women, and people of color would still be freely abused in all manners despicable. It’s time to move forward.

    I hates politics and the way the right thing isn’t done just to keep a foot in the door to “power”. Bastards.

    I don’t buy into the Gaga mystique but at least she’s speaking up. But, yeah, lose the meat analogy…most have trouble understanding it. Just speak clearly and succinctly..SHUT.DADT.DOWN.

  5. Cam says:

    I love her, so much… guess I’m part of the minority. I think it’s great that she fights for gay rights, whether she wears a meat dress or not, she stands for what she believes in… unlike other people, or let’s say… celebs.

  6. scotchy says:

    love the statement, don’t care or love her, wish she would disappear.

  7. ohcutemissa says:

    Agree with her 100%.

  8. LOVE ANGELINA says:

    Woooooooooooooooooo Go Gaga, Go Gays, down with DADT!!!! Gaga is so awesome for taking this cause and I am proud of her. She is helping to give a voice. Love her.

  9. MissVJJ says:

    I was in the military, and had lots of gay friends who are also in. Their words for her are STFU!!! (yes, Im serious)

  10. Maddie says:

    What have we done to be punished by Lady Goofy?

  11. Just a Poster says:

    Love or hate her.. personally I am just so very sick of the way she dresses for attention. The message gets rather lost when one is constantly “WTF?!” about her outfits.

  12. Anne says:

    Totally agree with her.

  13. junk573r says:

    She makes the craziest faces I’ve ever seen. She’s like a cartoon characture every time I see pictures of her performing or speaking. I just can’t believe she’s 24……I would have guessed almost 30.

  14. Marjalane says:

    I don’t care what her opinions are on anything- she just needs to stfu about everything!

  15. original kate says:

    this is just another opportunity for gaga to dress up in costume. let’s see…today she’s a political activist.

    edited to add: but i do support repealing don’t ask, don’t tell. so good on her for that. i just wish she had made it about the issue and not about her.

  16. KJ says:

    Ok, just because you don’t like a singer doesn’t mean they have no discernible talent. If you think Gaga has no talent, @SammyHamm, you clearly have never heard her sing or play the piano live. I’m not saying Gaga or bust. In fact I find her attention seeking antics very annoying and it’s hard to fight the feeling that her whole schtick is just a ploy, but I’ll be damned if she’s not more talented than the Rihannas, Katy Perrys of the world. She has an amazingly strong voice, with great range and clarity, something that most pop acts can only achieve with the help of a backing track. She’s a pretty damn good dancer for someone who didn’t grow up being a dancer, and she plays the piano exceptionally well. She may be played out and irritating, but talentless? Open your eyes and ears, the bitch has a voice. Just because you don’t like her act doesn’t mean you can’t at least admit that to yourself.

    As far as the rally, as much as she grates my nerves, I agree with everything she said. Especially the “if you don’t like it, go home,” part. If a straight soldier is too bigoted to get on with his or her duties for their country, then they should be discharged, not the people who are ready, willing and able but also happen to be homosexual. I can’t stand DADT. I think it’s a horribly prejudiced and ignorant idea, and if we expect to progress as a country, we need to get rid of it. We can’t expect people to not commit hate crimes when we as a country, for all intents and purposes, commit one everytime a homosexual officer is dismissed for not wanting to be all cloak and dagger about who they are.

  17. Shay says:

    How is it that America has annoyingly outlandish music celebrities, like Gaga, and yet, cannot be progressive enough to realise that gay people exist in most places and occupations, and this is does not mean the end of civilisation?

  18. call-in says:

    greatest cut of meat? wait, what?
    all i can think about is that stupid meat dress.

  19. Mandhy says:

    she can actually SING. think about it with all the NO TALENT out there. she also has a BRAIN. GROW UP MORONs

  20. Tess says:

    Gaga dear, liberty, not equality, is “the greatest cut of meat” that our country has to offer.

    Equality means very little if liberty is lost. Please understand that a loss of liberty may result in equality…but equality of treatment in many parts of the world is a nightmare.

    If she’s so committed to equality, how about sharing her income equally with all her Lil Monsters?

  21. Dizzybenny says:

    looks like the outfit that Pink whore in the ”Stupid Girl” video.
    Similar hair but Pink did not wear the goofy glasses.
    As for gays in the army,i dont care either way.I’m not in the army and i’m not gay,so eeeh! 🙂

  22. original kate says:

    @ K (#16): i’ve heard gaga and i think her voice is so-so. she plays the piano well, but i am generally underwhelmed by her “talent.” i wonder if you or other gaga fans were in some random piano bar and she was there, just playing & singing as an unknown, if you would would think she was so amazing. people respond to the showmanship, and she knows it, otherwise she wouldn’t need to do it constantly. if you like her, then enjoy. she is just not my (and many other people’s) taste.

  23. Moreaces says:

    Thanks Lady GaGa, Im proud of you and wish more celebs, would speak out in support. I hope congress does the right thing,

  24. Conando says:

    Her meat analogy is dumb as hell and she tries so hard to sound erudite. Just stfu already you needy attention-seeker.

    I also worked for a congressmen for 6 months last year and calling them is futile since it’ll be some poor intern who gets bombarded with phone calls. Writing letters and emails are far more effective.

  25. cowbell says:

    Unless Gaga has suited up and/or has any military experience I think she should STFU. I hope someday the military does repeal it, but I also firmly believe the opinions of the service members are more important than some psuedo celebrity. Isn’t there a report due out in December that pertains to the service men & women’s thoughts on this? I say wait.

  26. KJ says:

    @original kate – I’m not a Gaga “fan” per se, but I’ve heard her live on a few occassions, mostly at music festivals. Maybe you heard her on an off night, because every time I’ve heard her, her voice is pretty much on point. She’s got way more “umph” and soul than her radio nasally pop voice would lead one to believe. And there are videos of her online before she became “Lady Gaga,” performing at open mic nights in NYC, so yea, in effect I have seen her without the showmanship aspect of who she’s become now.

    And I’m not telling anyone they MUST ENJOY her music. I don’t enjoy country music in the least. I think it’s grating and annoying, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to say country musicians are talentless. As far as mainstream genres of music, country singers are among the most talented, vocally and instrumentally. My point was if you DON’T like her, like I tend not to which I thought I made abundantly clear in my first post but apparently not, you don’t have to slam her talent. That’s just a cheap shot. If we’re talking about things she’s bad at, let’s talk about her faux performance art, or her “I was never one of the cool kids,” portion of her biography that I have a hard time believing. But don’t talk about her talent. She doesn’t have to be your “taste” for you to see what is – she’s got more talent than your average pop sensation.

  27. mymy says:

    Just beyond annoying. Self serving much?
    I don’t take my lead from the entertainment world. I just take my gossip from them. She is not a person I care to listen to. Hence I won’t be playing what she said.

  28. Fluffy Kitten Tail says:

    UGH! So tired of her
    ” Me, me , me” Show!

  29. original kate says:

    @ K: ok, i get your point, but why compare her to “an average pop sensation?” if she is that talented she should be able to stand alone and not be compared to anyone else, favorably or not. but whatever, it is just a preference. don’t take it personally. i don’t like pop music much anyway – i’m a blues person. i’ll take leadbelly, bessie smith, son house, albert king, robert johnson et al. over all these pre-fab pop sensations any day of the week.

  30. a says:

    #4 — I absolutely agree!

    plus, i realty love the… “if you don’t like it, go home” idea!

  31. Jover says:

    First, hasn’t anyone seen the USA today review of the unauthorized Lady Caca bio by Maureen Callahan. Pic of Caca from 2004 showing her completely normal/pedestrian with her upper class Sacred Heart classmates. Second, she just settled a lawsuit out of court with Rob Fusari who sued her for some 30million as his profits for helping to create her. I wouldn’t put it past her or her handlers that this was a stunt to totally deflect from that action about which little surprisingly has been said. Does anyone really believe she did this of her own volition; remember awhile back she was yakking about the Arizona immigration law; whatever happened to that subject. If libs are taking their direction from idiots like Caca no wonder liberalism is in retreat; she’s a contrived corporate shill; notice this doesn’t cost her anything in ticket sales or revenue – if she’s so brave why doesn’t she take on the use of autotune or go all the way and take on the corrupt pop music industry. RIght, this is an easy issue she can exploit without any consequences. Not impressed. Yes, conando, wtf with the meat analogy she can’t even make an actual argument just gestures and half thoughts.

  32. dingle says:

    people are so ignorant it makes me sick

  33. Ycnan says:

    she is allowed an opinion like everyone else in the world. so what’s the problem?

    also agree with a poster who said the majority should never be allowed to vote on a minority. so outrageous how gay rights are treated in a large part of the US.

  34. im awful says:

    shes awful. in every way possible.

    i might just be cynical but why do i have a feeling she supports this only because she thinks it will get her more exposure, more support from the LGBT community and ultimately more cash in her and her labels pocket.

    she might be getting people talking but she profits from it immensely.

  35. Blah says:

    Its disappointing how little my fellow commenters seem to have taken from her speech. I’m no Gaga fan, but she was so poignant and passionate that I can’t help but respect her. She’s using her fame to give back to the community that made her famous, and I think thats kind of amazing. Forget about her meat dress and how much you hate Pokerface, her cause is definitely one to get behind.

  36. Liana says:

    she can actually SING. think about it with all the NO TALENT out there. she also has a BRAIN. GROW UP MORONs
    **********

    You dilute your whole argument when you sink to calling people names.

  37. Conando says:

    @im awful, call me a cynic too because I agree with you.

  38. Lenore says:

    @Dizzybenny -“As for gays in the army,i dont care either way.I’m not in the army and i’m not gay,so eeeh!”

    Nice attitude. “It doesn’t affect me personally so who cares whether or not my fellow human beings are treated well or badly? Who cares if gay people don’t have equal rights – I’m not one of them, so, I’mma eat a burger now.”

    Never mind that these human beings in particularly are risking their lives to protect the freedoms you enjoy, and yet you can’t even bring yourself to care about THEIR rights.

    I hope the senators are a little less blasé than you are and repeal DADT. And well done Gaga for supporting the cause so passionately.

  39. cantbelievethis says:

    I have nothing against getting rid of DADT, but I think Lady Gaga hurts the issue more than helps it with her ‘meat dress’ and comments. I am not going to take political advice from someone who dresses like a joke.

  40. Chris says:

    I’m amazed there is a disagreement as to whether or not Gaga has talent. She has an incredible voice with great range, and her piano playing is terrific. I think she is a once in a generation talent – so much so I find her outfits distracting. Singers like Katy Perry and/or Ke$ha need the outfits for a gimmick, but Gaga does not. Nonetheless, I am a fan, and I certainly am not her targeted demographic – my first pop fascination was with Herman’s Hermits. You do have to be a certain age to even recognize that name!! :)))
    I also admire her passion about issues important to us all – gay or not. We don’t complain about a celebrity’s activism unless we disagree with what they are saying. That list goes on and on – Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie… I really could go on and on. Do you ever recognize your sudden disdain at the messenger if you don’t like the message?

  41. EMV says:

    Lady Gaga makes any matter worse. Don’t Ask Dont Tell should have never been passed to begin with. Lady Gag gag looks like a fool. It does not matter what is coming out of her mouth if she looks like a famewhoring idiot the majority of the time.

  42. Kitten says:

    I always get a kick out of the posters who click on the Lady Gaga post to comment about how she is an “annoying attention-seeker”. I would classify that as a FAIL as far as ignoring and NOT giving her any attention.
    @Jover-you always always ALWAYS comment when it’s a Gaga post. You claim to hate her yet seem to know everything that’s going on with her from unauthorized bios to lawsuits. If I don’t like a celeb, I generally don’t make it a habit to know everything about them-kind of doesn’t make sense to me.

    Also, for the record, not a Gaga fan and not a hater. She’s just doing her thing…*shrug*

  43. TQB says:

    OK, listen as an actual MAINE RESIDENT I can tell you that her appearance here was meaningful to us. Whatever you think of her talent or lack thereof, she understands enough about the issue and the politics to decide that Maine, a place typically ignored completely by the rest of the country, to the point that most of you probably think part of our state is actually Canada, was pivotal.

    We had a very sad vote last fall, where Bible Belt interest groups poured millions of dollars into Maine to get our gay marriage bill repealed. Many of us (49% to be specific) are still reeling from that horror, and we are thankful that folks on the other side took the time to come up here. Mainers are passionate about personal freedom and we needed something like this to bring us together to fight to repeal this horrible DADT law.

  44. HotPockets says:

    Everyone has a very strong opinion on this, as do I.

    I just personally think that your sexuality and sexual preference should be under the radar, period. If your bi, gay or a nymphomaniac , please don’t ask or tell. After all, serving in the military is a job, and people should treat it as one and not cause a stir about their sexual orientation, no matter what kind it is…I don’t want to hear about it, nor do I care.

  45. original kate says:

    “my first pop fascination was with Herman’s Hermits. You do have to be a certain age to even recognize that name!”

    @ chris: sadly, i am, LOL!

  46. Liana says:

    she understands enough about the issue and the politics to decide that Maine, a place typically ignored completely by the rest of the country, to the point that most of you probably think part of our state is actually Canada, was pivotal.
    ***********

    She didn’t decide that Maine was pivotal, the Maine senators were the ones targeted by the democrats to be the swing votes.

  47. TQB says:

    @Liana, yeah, I get it – my point was people recognized that our senators were the swing votes. News flash: our senators are almost ALWAYS the swing votes because they do not consistently tow the party line.

  48. im awful says:

    @ TQB

    you give her too much credit. i bet she didnt know anything about the subject or politics involved until someone broke it down for her like you would for a three year old.

    i feel for your state and believe that all people should be treated equally. BUT dont be so fast to praise someone who is just ridiculous.

  49. FakeDiamond says:

    I really wonder if those who are commenting negatively about Gaga’s speech are really homophobic bigots or not.

    The hate on Gaga is quite astounding as her fight for gay rights is ignored and instead, herself, is targeted by negative remarks.

    We should be applauding those (normal citizens, celebrities, etc) who are standing up and voicing their concerns the injustice of DADT and not bashing them, especially something so trivial as individual tastes on music genre.

    Bitter people always want to drag others down to their level of misery. Get help, that’s all I can say.

  50. TQB says:

    @im awful – don’t do us any favors by feeling for us or telling us how to feel. Several posts here criticized Gaga by suggesting this was a big empty gesture. To the residents of Portland, Maine, it was not. She raised awareness and motivated thousands of people. Why do you feel entitled to sit off in another state and judge that she is “ridiculous?”

  51. buenavissta says:

    Not a fan, not a hater, just appreciating anyone with the spine to speak out on discrimination.

  52. im awful says:

    i do believe in the cause because i have close friends and family that are touched by it and affected by it.

    i feel for your state because i also live in a place where i often disagree with the government bulldozing over peoples rights.

    i dont have to love lady gaga. she does profit from these gestures and she is a corporate product. and wearing a meat dress and using it as an analogy in a very public speech is one of many things that are ridiculous about her.

  53. TQB says:

    @HotPockets, your view is too simple. Do you realize not “telling” means not having a same sex partner back at home? That if someone wants to get back at you, all they have to do is out you to your superiors? They don’t get to just lie low, not discuss it while on active duty and go home to their partner.

  54. TQB says:

    @im awful, again, it doesn’t matter if you think it was ridiculous, IT WORKED. You couldn’t even get through to Sen. Collins’ office this morning – too many people calling.

    She gets attention. This issue requires our rapt attention. Is the meat dress stupid? Do i think that the military is somehow a cut of meat? Irrelevant.

  55. im awful says:

    i guess the ends justify the means then. sad world.

  56. cowbell says:

    The majority of dismissals are done by people “outing” themselves.

    I don’t know what the right answer is, but I don’t think this issue should have been buried in this legislation. Why doesn’t the Obama administration wait for the congressional debates on it and let the repeal of DADT be its own vote?
    I believe there are enough swing votes where it would be repealed – if the vote was soley on DADT.

  57. GatsbyGal says:

    I agree with Gaga completely! How are you going to go fight a war and put your life on the line in the name of freedom for all, but then turn around and say gays don’t have the right to simply be themselves in the service of their country. Bigots should be the ones weeded out of the army, not gays. If the thought of being in the company of an openly gay man makes a soldier feel icky, perhaps that soldier would be better suited to….actually, I’m sure there are openly gay men in nearly every other profession out there. Police officers, firefighters, doctors, you name it. They don’t make openly gay cops leave the force, do they? God, why are we so backwards about this kind of stuff?

  58. redlips says:

    People that have to work that hard for attention, normally, have some major demons! She makes me tired!

  59. Churchston Winsthill says:

    LOL she looks mentally ill in those pics. A useless celebrity babbling about a totally meaningless issue.

  60. wunderkindt says:

    Go GaGa!!!

    Thanks for standing up for civil rights!

  61. Jover says:

    Kitten, with all due respect you miss my points completely. The unauthorized bio and the lawsuit are public info easily accessible and widely reported on, I made little effort to search these topics out. Why do her fans treat her as some pure genius when she’s just a common manufactured pop star like most. Does authenticity mean nothing anymore?
    Look at it this way, if Toby Keith came to Maine to support the DADT policy, everything, including his past and his business dealings, would be fair game – and rightly so. Why treat Gaga to a different standard.
    She is not fighting for anything and she is not brave – bravery is the women of Afghanistan voting despite death threats from the Taliban. Lets not insult the women of Afghanistan by comparing them to this wealthy famewhore.
    THe term “hater” needs to be dropped; this is Celebitchy, I’m expressing an opinion and so are you.
    Thank you fakediamond I was wondering when the homophobic card was going to be played. Really, do you think Gaga, or any celebrity, does anything of the own volition anymore, what with all the pr/management teams/handlers they have? I’m liberal, and I detest her because she’s a manufactured, contrived corporate product and shill using progressive political stands, that cost her nothing, to mask the weakness of her music and the inauthenticity of background and persona.
    Face it, if she were taking conservative stands, opinions of her on this site would be markedly different. She’s not courageous, she’s not risking anything or standing up for anything, she’s not that talented – and that doesn’t make me a hater or homophobic for stating it.

  62. Kitten says:

    Ok, Jover. I do understand that you’re just expressing an opinion and you have every right to. I just sometimes get the vibe that Gaga is more of a “crusade” for you in the sense that I don’t think I’ve seen you comment on other C/B posts. I remember your comments because they are usually related to the music industry and how current pop music sucks. Anyway, carry on…

  63. alejandro says:

    she can actually SING. think about it with all the NO TALENT out there. she also has a BRAIN. GROW UP MORONs
    =================================

    So what? She doesn’t have a better voice than Christina Aguilera, Pink, Beyonce, Mariah Carey etc. It kills me that these little fans always fall back on the “she can sing” mantra as if she was the only female artist who does it live and sounds ok when doing so.
    THere’s a lot of talent out there you just all focus on the ones with less than her to make her seem better then she is. Take away the costumes put her on a mic stand and she is no better then a lot of the talent out there.

  64. Liana says:

    I am far from a homophobic bigot. So now not liking the artifice of Lady Gaga makes one a bigot? So much for being allowed to have an opinion about someone. If you dare to disagree with anything the great Lady Gaga does, her little monsters attack and call you names. Really, do you think your leader would approve of you attempting to stomp on the rights of others by calling them names? She’s probably not even aware of it because she’s too busy figuring out how to put the actual Eiffel Tower on her head without upsetting the French.

  65. TQB says:

    Fake Diamond didn’t say that not liking Lady Gaga made you a bigot, she questioned it.

    I believe the point was, are you just critical of Gaga, or are you actually supportive of DADT and just taking cheap shots by attacking the speaker instead of the message?

    Like I said, I don’t have to like meat dresses to agree with her standing up for gay rights.

    If Toby Keith showed up in Portland trust me – I would have no loss of words to say to him about his stance on this issue –> not the rest of his life.

  66. Liana says:

    “questioning” it, is the same thing as saying it. Let’s not pretend. And I actually wholly support the repeal of DADT. Been to rallies about it where people who have actually been affected by it have spoken. Have had friends affected by it. That means more to me than Lady Gaga talking about her meat dress.

  67. Jover says:

    TQB your first sentence is intellectually dishonest and disingenous. DId you not read my entire post. Since when is questioning the motivations and talent – real or otherwise – of some prefab pop star that carefully cherry picks an issue to speak out on, and which redounds to her economic benefit, bigoted or homophobic?Anyway, in the spirit of true liberalism, opinions on DADT are many and varied – there is no orthodoxy on the subject – even within the military. CaCa is being criticized largely because her incessant fame and media whoring is getting in the way of a thoughtful debate about a complex issue – and about which she has nothing insightful, based on research or firsthand military experience, to add. Btw, no one has responded to cowbell’s excellent comment.

  68. iKat says:

    Lady Gaga is a moron. By making these over-dramatic, ridiculous speeches i believe she is harming the issue more than helping it.
    She is JUST a celebrity who walks around half-naked all the time. All she wants is a bit of attention.

  69. Conando says:

    Looks like the repeal failed this time, 56-43, Dems needed at least 4 more votes. Maybe she’s hurting the cause rather than helping it?

  70. Sawbuck says:

    For the love of God, PLEASE do NOT attempt to discuss Senate rules EVER – Nevada Senator Harry Reid, Leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate killed this thing by packaging it as he did – and voted against it as well. Had he chosen to have a clean vote on the amendment it would have been beaten by a wider margin because additional Democrats would have peeled off. Honestly, you need to stick to things you have some knowldge about.

  71. Tess says:

    Gaga is problematic as a spokesperson for any cause.

    When you parade around in dresses made of meat, you do tend to forfeit credibility.

  72. Amy says:

    Lady Gaga has talent whether you like it or not. Yes, her over the top outfits and behavior are incredibly annoying. Yes, it seems like she is always trying to copy Madonna (but Madonna cannot sing at all. Great entertainer, not a good singer).

    But I’ve seen the girl play live on tv and several videos of her playing at the Bitter End in NYC before the whole Gaga schtick. In interviews early in her Lady Gaga days, she sounds a lot more down to earth than this weird Paris Hilton voice she likes to talk in. So yes her act is annoying. But the girl can sing.

  73. tbartnett says:

    You do realize that Harry Reid was on of the Senators who voted against it right?

  74. Tess says:

    Did Reid really vote against it? That is amazing.

    If he voted no, I hope he goes to a special circle of hell reserved for hideously unprincipled politicians.

    Is he really the best the state of Nevada can do?

  75. Chris says:

    What would happen to a person in the armed forces if they told their commrades they were gay? Can they be kicked out?

  76. Chris says:

    Re Gaga in these photos: She looks like a Sesame Street cast member.

  77. Sally says:

    Team TQB!

    Sure, you don’t have to like GaGa or her meat dress, or her music, or even think she has talent. But the point is she has influence with her followers (and you can say what you like about them) and increasing awareness about important equality issues is a good thing. Just because YOU don’t need GaGa to make you aware of some things, her being vocal about not supporting DADT can help others. I dislike many celebs, but the publicity they bring to certain meaningful issues – for those who are swayed by that kind of thing – can be valuable.

  78. Crash2GO2 says:

    “She’s probably not even aware of it because she’s too busy figuring out how to put the actual Eiffel Tower on her head without upsetting the French.”

    And this – is why I read Celebitchy. 😀

  79. Tess says:

    I think celeb spokespeople bring very little support to their chosen causes.

    For any people they sway over to their side, they probably turn off and galvanize as many—-or more—opponents.

    They’re seen as flakes and dilettantes by ordinary, hardworking people.

  80. Canucklehead says:

    My guess is she put her protest outfit together and then realized she needed to protest something because she had the outfit (or costume)

  81. nickynoneck says:

    The comments on here are so stupid its funny as hell , she fights for someones rights and you assholes talk about how she looks ?

  82. Alarmjaguar says:

    Hey folks, Reid voted against it as a procudural measure — knowing it wasn’t going to pass, voting against it allows him to reintroduce the bill at a later point, something he would be unable to do if he had voted for it. As Kaiser says, Senate procedure is ridiculous!

  83. Andrea-2 says:

    @nickynoneck

    Um….it’s a gossip web site called “Celebitchy”. If you want NPR-styled reporting, search elsewhere, but make sure to hit the apostrophe/comma key once in a while. You won’t get away with that at CNN…

  84. Tess says:

    Reid is an idiot. If he would have handled it better, he wouldn’t need to reintroduce the bill. He attached other legislation to it, and would not allow debate.

    What a bully. What a dud.

  85. patricia says:

    lady gaga i always thought that she was over the top besides that speech i found out why she is speaking out on g-rights .

  86. Chris says:

    I think Corporal Klinger would be better placed than M’lady Gaga to comment on this issue.

  87. lucy2 says:

    She looks a bit ridiculous, and talking about the meat stuff is kinda stupid, but I’ll give her credit for speaking up for something she believes in.

    I think she has talent, and some of her songs are OK, and the on stage costume stuff is interesting, but it seems like she’s always ON, always in crazy outfits, and it gets tiresome. I realize she’s trying to maintain an image, but save it for the stage, and be serious when you need to be serious (no cartoon glasses and meat talk during a serious political talk).

  88. birdgherl says:

    She’s so full of herself, she might explode. I so wish she would go away already!

  89. Rio says:

    The NYTimes has an interesting series of articles about the changing role of women in the American military and how it is beginning to influence ideas on homosexuals openly serving. Basically the gist that although commanders initially thought that having women serve would “break ranks”, it hasn’t been the case and now they’re actually pushing to have women serve in more action-oriented roles such as the Special Forces and light infantry. Since all the fears they had about women serving have proven moot, the idea of openly homosexual soldiers is becoming more of a “So what?” issue, especially among younger recruits and officers.
    Interesting series, you can read it here: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/us/series/women_at_arms/index.html?ref=us

  90. nel says:

    i dont hate or liker gaga but you know at least she is saying something.

    i dont hear the others saying stuff about this piece of shit policy.

    dont ask dont tell is offensive to gay men and women in the army.. “oh its ok for you fight and die for your country, just dont tell them your gay because they hate gays”

    thats seriously F’ed up.

  91. moocowhead says:

    Looks like some shameless attention-whoring to me.

  92. chi chi says:

    that meat dress really f’in pisses me off but at least she is making a statement that is actually beneficial.

  93. The Bobster says:

    Big deal. Most of her male fans are already poofters. She’s preaching to the choir.

  94. J says:

    @ Tess

    Wow! I’m so glad you have elected yourself representative for each and every ordinary, hardworking person. You only speak for yourself and I think you need to keep that in mind.

    It’s a sad state of affairs when you would rather hate on some one for speaking out, than to accept that people with public personas would like to use that for some benefit. I think Lady Gaga speaking out does more for gay rights and awareness than you commenting on Celebitchy, sorry. Stop the hate.

  95. garvels says:

    Democratic Senator Harry Reid did kill the bill by coupling the Dream Act(amnesty for illegal aliens)with the repeal of DADT in the Defense bill. The Dream Act is a very controversial act that should be addressed in an Immigration bill not a Defense bill. Polls show that 70% of Americans are opposed to the Dream Act as it stands; so there would have been no way the DADT repeal would have passed yesterday. If the DADT repeal was in its own little bill it would have had a very good chance of passage. Reid injected the Dream Act to win the Latino vote because his campaign in Nevada is in trouble.I guess Reid prefers the Latino vote over Gay rights. Doesn’t politics SUCK?!

    Republicans such as Collins from Maine would have voted for the repeal. They could have had 60(fillibuster proof) Senate votes for DADT’s repeal if the defense bill was structured differently.Collins asked Reid for the possiblity of bill revisions and Reid said NO…he stated that the Senators have to vote for the bill as is with all of the ammendments attached-end of discussion!

    By the way Reid is a Democrat who is the leader of the Senate. That means he controls and sets the agenda. I can tell by reading comments like “it is all of the Republicans fault” that people do not realize that the Democrats run both the House and Senate with large majorities and by the way they run the White House too. I really don’t think Obama and Nancy are sincere about the repeal of DADT. If they were, it should have happened 18 months ago.

  96. Natasha says:

    Let me preface this by saying that I am 100% for the repeal of DADT. I am also for bringing our troops home, period, whether they are gay, straight, or sideways.

    I understand that the war and DADT are separate issues. But please, someone explain to me, WHY are celebrities constantly focusing on the cause of the day (let me reiterate, if someone is willing to lay the life down for their country, they should be able to do so and live their life openly), while we have troops dying in a (pointless) war? There is no protest to this war anymore.

    It’s not just celebrities either I suppose, though there are plenty of songs from the 60’s and 70’s about peace and protesting war, where are our songs of protest? Why aren’t we angry anymore?

    Are we so consumed with our own lives that we will continue to ship our soldiers off to their death’s without a peep?

    Yes, it’s a damn shame that our military is still backwards and stuck in ancient times as far as DADT, but we are at WAR. Can’t we fight for their rights when we aren’t shipping them off left and right to die?

    I suppose I should have also mentioned that one of the nine that died in Afghanistan yesterday was a boy I grew up with. Watching Lady I-Wear-Food-While-Others-Starve ramble about the military, even for a cause that I agree with, put me over the edge.

    Apologies for my ranting ramble. I understand that this is a celebrity gossip site. I’m just very sad, my heart hurts, and I needed an outlet. It just happened to be here.

  97. daluraemoviegoer says:

    Someone up there is all confused about economic equality and political equality and at issue in this case is rather the latter then the former. Saying things like Why not distribute your income to the poor or whatever when speaking of the political equality and civil liberties sounds a bit off to me. Anyway I often get skeptical of what Lady GaGa does nowadays but I actually like her state and stretch of her ‘meat’ metaphor to the platform from the VMAs

  98. Jo says:

    Personally being in the military I probably have a different perspective than alot of the posts I’ve read. However, I believe that since we are the ones that are fighting so that people like her can stand up and use her freedom of speech(which us in the military signed away) then we should be the ones to make the decision, or at least have a say. I personally am not a homophobe, I know many homosexuals that I have no problem being around and working with, however the commodant of the marine corps and the sgt maj of the marine corps were over here last month and they took a survey, the question was who would not feel comfortable with having open homosexuals in the military, and just about everyone out of the at least 200 marines that were there raised their hand. So she can say if we don’t like it then we can go home, if that was the case there would be no military because the majority of the military is homophobic. Sorry folks but its a fact of life, and most of the men fighting for our country don’t want to be forced to live in a barracks room with a homosexual. sexual assaults and harassment are a big enough problem and they think that its going to make it worse. And someone somewhere thinks its going to be an even bigger distraction than females in a combat zone. Mr. Obama was trying to force this on the military and when the secretary of defense gets the results of his survey back(he did the smart thing and decided to find out how the military population felt) its prob gonna be the same as its always been. The military is not ready for homosexuality and lots of other freedoms that everyone else gets. We don’t have freedom of speech or freedom of expression anyways.

  99. Lena says:

    LOL, “the military is not ready for homosexuality.” I love how people try to act as if homos were not already in the military.

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