Lady Gaga took a break during her concert in Las Vegas on Saturday to chastise Vice President Mike Pence for defending wife Karen’s decision to teach art at a private Virginia school that explicitly bans LGBT students and parents.
“You say we should not discriminate against Christianity; you are the worst representation of what it means to be a Christian,” the singer said to the vice president while performing the song “Million Reasons” at her residency at the Park MGM. Her remarks were captured by audience members and shared on social media.
We need more people like Gaga to not be afraid and to speak up. What she says here, thank you for using your voice @ladygaga #ENIGMA ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💖🖤 pic.twitter.com/kPmJim1VUp
— Kara (@gagaamour) January 20, 2019
“I am a Christian woman and what I do know about Christianity is that we bear no prejudice and everybody is welcome,” said Lady Gaga, a likely best actress Oscar contender for her performance in “A Star is Born.”
“So you can take all that disgrace, Mr. Pence, and you can look yourself in the mirror and you’ll find it right there,” she added.
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Gaga’s comments followed a week of headlines about Karen Pence returning to teach art two days a week at Immanuel Christian School in Springfield, Va. She worked at the school 12 years before her husband became vice president, according to USA Today.
The Huffington Post, Washington Post and USA Today, citing the school’s online parent’s agreement, said the school can “discontinue enrollment” of a student if they or their parents “are in opposition to the biblical lifestyle the school teaches.” This definition includes “supporting or condoning sexual immorality, homosexual activity or bisexual activity.”
Perhaps hoping for some good P.R., Karen Pence released a statement last week about how she was returning to her great love: being in a classroom and teaching.
“I am excited to be back in the classroom and doing what I love to do. I have missed teaching art,” said Karen Pence, who has taught at public and private schools in Indiana, illustrated a children’s book about a rabbit named Marlon Bundo and advocated for art therapy programs in her current role.
But then came news about Immanuel Christian’s policies against LGBT students and parents.
Mike Pence tried to defend the school and his wife’s choice to teach there in an interview with Christian television station EWTN: “To see major news organizations attacking Christian education is deeply offensive to us. … We have rich tradition in America of religious education. … The freedom of religious is enshrined in the United States.”
PREVIEW — @VP @mike_pence responds to critics of @SecondLady's new job. "The criticism of Christian education in America should stop." Tune in tonight for part one of my full interview with the Vice President on @EWTNNewsNightly at 7 PM EST on @EWTN. pic.twitter.com/YKEHyroswC
— Lauren Ashburn (@LaurenAshburn) January 17, 2019
Pence’s spokeswoman Kara Brooks also called it “absurd that (Karen Pence’s) decision to teach art to children at a Christian school, and the school’s religious beliefs, are under attack,” USA Today reported.
But Rick Sutton, an LGBT advocate who co-founded Freedom Indiana, told USA Today that the Pence family’s stance against LGBT rights is well-known, so he wasn’t surprised by Karen Pence’s decision to work at the school. Mike Pence also has long maintained that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Lady Gaga, who has long advocated for LGBT rights, called into question the vice president’s concerns about criticism of the school’s “Christian education” when weighed against the school’s discriminatory policies.
“To Mike Pence, who thinks it’s acceptable that his wife work at a school that bans LGBTQ, you are wrong,” the “Born This Way” singer said.
In her brief break from singing, Lady Gaga, who real name is Stefani Germanotta, also took aim at Pence’s boss, President Donald Trump, over the government shutdown, which entered its 31st day Monday, making it the longest in U.S. history.
She said she hoped “the (expletive) president of the United States could please put our government back in business (as) there are people who live paycheck to paycheck and need their money.”
Lady Gaga then got back to her music by saying, “OK, I’m sorry, I got upset for a second there.”
