Pop diva Lady Gaga brought her star power, her mom and some of her famous friends, including Oprah Winfrey, to Harvard University to launch a new foundation aimed at empowering young people and stamping out bullying. “If you have revolutionary potential, you must make the world a better place and use it,” Gaga said as she officially kicked off the ‘Born this Way Foundation,’ named after her 2011 hit album and single, with a series of events at the top US university. “This is about transformative change in culture.” The singer has often given a voice for people she feels lack representation in the media, and she formed the foundation to address issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying and mentoring.
“I believe that human kind, as a whole, can change the world,” said style-icon Gaga, who wore a long black, backless dress, black hat, gloves and platform shoes to Harvard for what she termed “one of the best days of my life.” “The goal is to challenge meanness and cruelty by inspiring young people to create a support system in their respective communities,” she said. In 2011 Gaga, 25, topped the Forbes list of the most powerful people in the entertainment business – ironically, knocking talk show host Winfrey from the number one spot she had held three times in the past seven years. Winfrey said she joined forces with Gaga’s foundation because it shared some of her core beliefs, including kindness, compassion and care for others.
Gaga’s foundation is expected to include specific outreach to gay youth. The singer/songwriter said that releasing the song further propelled a dialog that already existed between her and her fans – Gaga has almost 20 million followers on the social media site Twitter – and became a calling of sorts. “The more kids that I can get to come and eat hamburgers and talk outside my shows. I feel that it will start small, but over time will be very big,” Gaga said.
