Lady Gaga Dedicates 'Born This Way' to the Transgender Community at Her Las Vegas Residency

“="I've got something to say about trans rights in this country," said Gaga during her Jazz & Piano show at the Park Theater on Thursday

Lady Gaga has always been one of the LGBTQ+ community’s fiercest allies, and she’s continuing to speak out as the community's rights are threatened by legislation across the United States.

During the pop star’s Jazz & Piano Las Vegas Residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM on Thursday, which resumed for the first time since May 2022, she took time in the show to dedicate a song to the transgender community.

The Grammy winner, 37, performed her 2011 hit queer anthem “Born This Way” in honor of trans people and spoke out about the importance of using her platform.

“I’ve got something to say about trans rights in this country,” Gaga said before performing the song in footage captured by fans. “You got something to say, you’ve got to speak up, alright?”

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As the residency is dedicated to performing jazz classics and stripped-down versions of her hits, she then turned the song into a stunning piano ballad. While wearing a floor-length pink gown, the “Applause” singer played the song seated at the piano, belting out the emotional lyrics about self-love and acceptance.

In the middle of the song, Gaga stopped playing to add, “Sometimes you hear people say things like, ‘I don’t know what to say.’ Just listen. Don’t say nothing. Listen. Listen to stories of real people’s lives.”

The A Star Is Born actress gave the tribute as at least 13 states in the U.S. have signed into law anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and another 23 states have introduced similar bills, according to the Human Rights Campaign, with many of those laws targeting transgender youth and gender-affirming care.

Her statement also comes as several musicians, such as Carlos Santana, Róisín Murphy and Travis Tritt, among others, have made headlines for making transphobic comments and later issuing apologies.

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Gaga’s residency, which originally began in 2019 and originally switched off with her pop-focused Enigma show, has resumed for the first time since she started filming Joker: Folie à Deux in May 2022. The acclaimed show will run now through Oct. 5.

The performer also took time out of the Thursday night performance to honor her late collaborator Tony Bennett, who died at age 96 in July after living with Alzheimer’s since 2016.

Prior to singing “Fly Me to the Moon,” which she dedicated to Bennett’s widow Susan Benedetto who was in the audience, she said, “If I know Tony well, I know he would be real mad at me for being sad, so I couldn’t come out here and be sad. I sung this song while Tony was still alive, and I’m going to sing it now even though he’s gone, because he’ll never be gone.”

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The singer-songwriter also celebrated the return of her Jazz & Piano residency with posts before and after the performance on Instagram.

“IT’S OUR OPENING SHOW IN VEGAS BABY,” the superstar wrote in the caption of a photo of herself holding the Playbill. “1 hr, 16 min till we hit the stage to SWING 🖤🎺.”

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