Lady Gaga, Chappell Roan Use Grammys To Defend Trans Rights After Trump Attacks

Lady Gaga used the Grammys stage to declare that transgender people are “not invisible” on Sunday after President Donald Trump’s attacks on the community since his inauguration.

“Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love,” said Gaga after winning the Grammy in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category for her Bruno Mars collaboration “Die With a Smile.”

Gaga has previously spoken out against Trump’s attacks on the trans community and, in an interview with Elle UK published last week, vowed that LGBTQ+ allies were “not going down without a fight” after the president’s election win.

“We will stick together. It’s going to be hard but I’m up for it. We’re up for it. And I just want everyone to know how deeply they’re loved and not invisible,” Gaga told the magazine.

Chappell Roan, who won Best New Artist among her six nominations, also used the occasion to acknowledge that it’s “brutal” for LGBTQ+ people before focusing her attention on the trans community.

“Trans people have always existed and they will forever exist, and they will never, no matter what happens, take trans joy away,” said Roan in an interview with GLAAD red carpet correspondents Chrishell Stause and Anthony Allen Ramos prior to the show.

The artist — who identifies as lesbian and is seen as a champion of the queer community — added, “I would not be here without trans girls, so just know that pop music is thinking about you and cares about you, and I’m trying my best to stand up for you in every way that I can.”