Lady Gaga is donating her LennonOno Grant For Peace, given to her by Yoko Ono yesterday, to Elton John’s Aids charity
The ‘Born This Way’ hitmaker received the LennonOno Grant For Peace award from Yoko Ono as recognition of her social activism, but the pop star announced that she will be donating it to Elton John’s Aids charity.
She said yesterday at the ceremony in Reykjavik, Iceland, whilst accepting the prize: “I will be donating this grant to the Elton John Aids Foundation and I will be working closely with them to ensure that the money goes specifically to those orphaned and disadvantaged youth in America born with HIV or AIDS. I dare you to be compassionate in a cynical age.”
The LennonOno Grant For Peace is a biennial award in memory of the late Beatles musician John Lennon and Yoko said that she is proud of Gaga for campaigning for gay rights, saying, “Gaga is powerful and it’s great that she is using her power to do other things than just singing.”
The Mother Monster is known for donating to different causes – such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti – as well as launching her own Born This Way Foundation advocating more empowerment, education and acceptance among young people.
The eccentric singer shared this year’s prize with Russian punk band Pussy Riot, late writer Christopher Hitchens, author John Perkins and Rachel Corrie – an activist who was killed when protesting in Gaza.
The award was first established in 2002 and is now given out every two years to honor people who are actively working for peace. The size of the award has never been disclosed.
We love it when stars share their platform in aid of a good cause – what an inspiration!
