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The 25th Annual Elle Women in Hollywood Celebration kicked off Monday night, October 15 in Beverly Hills, California, with Lady Gaga and Charlize Theron taking center stage.
With her new film, A Star Is Born, released October 5, Lady Gaga was honored as one of the ELLE’s Women in Hollywood. She delivered her Women in Hollywood acceptance speech from an extremely vulnerable and honest place. She opened up about her sexual assault, mental illness, and a plea for women to lift up each other’s voices and “beckon the world towards kindness.”
The Iconic Singer Opened Up
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Gaga spoke after Jennifer Lopez presented her award. ELLE reported that the icon spoke for almost 25 minutes, detailing how a sexual assault when she was 19 by an unnamed man “in the entertainment industry” has left her with long-term physical and emotional pain.
“As a woman who is still not brave enough to say his name, as a woman who lives with chronic pain, as a woman who was conditioned at a very young age to listen what men told me to do, I decided today I wanted to take the power back,” Gaga said while emphasizing her outfit choice: an oversized Marc Jacobs suit instead of a dress with her hair in a low bun.
“Today, I wore the suit in an age when I can barely watch the news, aghast at the unjust men–and some women, quite frankly–that I see running this country. I had a revelation that I had to be empowered to be myself more than ever, to resist the standards of Hollywood. Whatever that means. To resist the standards of dressing to impress, but to use what really matters–my voice,” she continued.
Gaga then asked the women in the room “to work together…to heal each other. And we can also try to find the strength in the best way that we can to ask for help when we need it.”
“We Are Not Members Of A Giant Beauty Pageant”
Lady Gaga Opens Up About Sexual Assault and Mental Health in Vulnerable ELLE Women in Hollywood Acceptance Speech https://t.co/iFNLh4Dw0r
— ELLE Magazine (US) (@ELLEmagazine) October 16, 2018
During her speech, Gaga continued as she kept asking herself “What does it really mean to be a woman in Hollywood?”
“I tried on dress after dress today getting ready for this event, one tight corset after another, one heel after another, a diamond, a feather, thousands of beaded fabrics and the most beautiful silks in the world. To be honest, I felt sick to my stomach. And I asked myself: What does it really mean to be a woman in Hollywood?” she said.
Gaga also described how she received “glares of confusion” from people after she decided on the oversized suit.
“But the Rodarte was so beautiful! one said. But the Raf Simons for Calvin Klein was so stunning on you! said another. But what about the Brandon Maxwell? What about the Dior? Lots of questions. They were all dresses,” she said. “This was an oversized men’s suit made for a woman. Not a gown. And then I began to cry. In this suit, I felt like me today. In this suit, I felt the truth of who I am well up in my gut. And then wondering what I wanted to say tonight become very clear to me.”
“We are not just objects to entertain the world. We are not simply images to bring smiles or grimaces to people’s faces. We are not members of a giant beauty pageant meant to be pit against one another for the pleasure of the public. We women in Hollywood, we are voices. We have deep thoughts and ideas and beliefs and values about the world and we have the power to speak and be heard and fight back when we are silenced.”
Gaga ended her speech by urging everyone to “be a helping hand,” and stated her definition of a woman in Hollywood means that she has a platform and a chance to make a change.
“I pray we listen and believe and pay closer attention to those around us to those in need….Be a helping hand. Be a force for change.”
