Lady Gaga is using her ‘Mayhem’ publicity tour to support the queer & trans community

Lady Gaga’s sixth studio album, Mayhem, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart this week, following several weeks of promotion where the beloved pop singer consistently emphasised her support for the queer and trans community during a time of uncertainty for LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S.A.

According to ‘MSN’, when the ‘Abracadabra’ singer took the stage to accept the Innovator Award at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday, March 17, she expressed her gratitude to her fans — her ‘Little Monsters’ — and especially to the LGBTQ+ community.

“You taught me bravery, before the world was ready to listen,” she stated. “You have changed the world for better and your courage fuels mine every single day.”

One of the queer fans present was rapper Doechii, a recent Grammy-winner, who introduced Gaga, calling her “a lifeline” for queer kids like herself who felt different.

“Gaga taught us that it was OK to be our real selves, to try new things, to try anything, to speak out and to create,” Doechii remarked. “Gaga was and always is new, fresh, and different. And not only is that OK, but it’s ideal.”

Gaga’s speech at the iHeartRadio Awards was yet another instance of her advocating for the LGBTQ+ community amid ongoing attacks on trans rights by the current administration. She received a standing ovation at the 2025 Grammy Awards in February when she acknowledged the trans community while accepting the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for ‘Die with a Smile,’ her duet with Bruno Mars.

“I just want to say tonight that trans people are not invisible,” she told the audience. “Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love.”

On the March 8 episode of the New York Times’ The Interview podcast, host David Marchese pointed out that Gaga was the only artist who used the Grammys stage to explicitly advocate for trans rights. When asked if she views her work in 2025 as political, Gaga stated that there has always been a political dimension to her public presence.

“I’m not interested in being famous to stand for nothing at all,” she clarified. “It’s a privilege to stand with people who are so amazing. I’m in awe of the trans community, and I’m in awe of the LGBTQ+ community, and I have been since I was really young. And if you win an award, you have 45 seconds to speak while the world is listening. I just wanted to say something that matters to people that I care about.”

“I’m not a trans person, but I try to imagine what it would feel like to wake up living in America and living in the world right now,” she added, “and I just think being supportive and being kind— we can’t just whisper about these things. We have to say them out loud.”

In a March 5 interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Gaga discussed the injustices that are “taking place on a daily basis” in the lives of transgender Americans under the current administration, calling them “completely unfair, wrong.”

“I think that we all need to support trans people and each other to know that they deserve to be supported and loved and protected and lifted up,” the singer said.

She recently told The Advocate that attempts to “ignore or push down” the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community to the arts and entertainment are “wrong.”

“And to me, it’s a violεnce,” Gaga shared with the outlet.

She elaborated on her nearly 20-year relationship with her fans as one that encompasses “social justice politics, advocating for people that feel different, having each other’s backs, winning, losing, getting to know each other’s stories.”

“I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like to be famous without the type of fan base that I had,” she continued, “a fan base that stood for something and stood for each other.”