Monday, September 26, 2011

Lady Gaga Honors Jamey Rodemeyer At iHeartRadio Festival

Gay teen committed suicide last weekend after suffering years of bullying.
By Gil Kaufman


Lady Gaga performs at the iHeartRadio Music Festival
Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Just days after once again speaking out against bullying, Lady Gaga dedicated a moving version of "Hair" to teen Jamey Rodemeyer at the iHeartRadio music festival in Las Vegas on Saturday. The gay teen committed suicide last week after enduring years of bullying by his school peers, inspiring Gaga to tweet that she was going to meet with President Obama to encourage him to pass legislation outlawing bullying.

Following up on her promise, Gaga attended an Obama fundraiser in Los Angeles over the weekend, where a source told MTV News last week that she was expected to bring up the topic if the two were able to get a moment together. According to The Associated Press, Gaga was among the guests at an intimate Sunday night gathering at the home of Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, wearing a sleeveless gown and high heels. A spokesperson for Gaga had not returned requests for comment at press time inquiring about whether the meeting of the minds had taken place.

The two-night iHeartRadio festival unfolded at the MGM Grand in Vegas and featured sets from Jay-Z, the Black Eyed Peas, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez and Usher.

"We lost a Little Monster this week," Gaga said of the 14-year-old Rodemeyer during the show, as a picture of the teen was shown on a screen onstage. "I wrote this record about how your identity is really all you've got when you're in school ... so tonight, Jamey, I know you're up there looking at us, and you're not a victim ... you're a lesson to all of us. I know it's a bit of a downer, but sometimes the right thing is more important than the music."

The Amherst Police Department have opened a criminal investigation into Rodemeyer's death and are considering harassment, cyberharassment and hate crimes charges against a number of teens who may have been involved in bullying Jamey.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1671464/lady-gaga-iheartradio.jhtml

Mandy Moore